When Chen Tianhua pushed the door open and walked into the Political Department conference room, the comrades attending the meeting felt quite surprised. Everyone had actually prepared to meet all night; given how big the current situation had become, they assumed it would take a long time for Director Chen Tianhua to report to Chairman Chen Ke. Since "leaking secrets" was involved, to protect the comrades, the Political Department Party Committee had discussed and decided that no one was allowed to leave the Political Department until the problem was resolved internally.

Unexpectedly, Chen Tianhua returned after only being away for over an hour. At this moment, the Political Department Party Committee's introduction and discussion regarding the recent developments had not even fully concluded.

"What instructions does Chairman Chen have?" The comrades immediately interrupted the meeting and asked Chen Tianhua. In the discussions that had already taken place, the comrades had realized that the matter was far more complex than imagined. No one dared to make a decision on such a major issue. Since Chen Tianhua had returned, he must have brought back Chairman Chen Ke's instructions.

After conveying Chen Ke's opinions to the comrades, Chen Tianhua scanned the group in the Political Department. Some comrades suddenly realized the truth and were jubilant, while others remained worried.

Asking the comrades to quiet down first, Chen Tianhua said, "Let's not discuss the issue of support for now. If comrades have any worries or opinions, speak them out first. We ourselves must first unify our thinking."

As soon as Chen Tianhua finished speaking, someone immediately raised a question: "Director Chen, to what extent will the struggle be carried out?"

"The struggle will continue until all comrades abide by the Party's organizational discipline," Chen Tianhua answered decisively.

This statement was rather unexpected, so much so that no comrade was able to continue speaking immediately after. Everyone looked at each other, finding it difficult to correctly grasp Chen Tianhua's train of thought.

Chen Tianhua did not intend to let everyone play guessing games. He asked loudly, "Comrades, why do we think that so many comrades have made such big mistakes? By what standard do we determine whether they have made mistakes?"

The question was simple, yet no one dared to answer directly. Chen Tianhua waited for a moment, then provided the answer himself: "We use the current organizational discipline as the standard to measure and judge the comrades' actions. Unless we ourselves believe these organizational disciplines are wrong, do we need to look for any other standards? There is already a standard."

Although he spoke so clearly, Chen Tianhua knew this was not what the comrades were truly concerned about. Those who originally believed in organizational discipline still believed in it. Those who were frightened by so many comrades making mistakes would now first question whether the currently implemented organizational discipline was "imperfect."

The comrades' expressions also proved that Chen Tianhua was not wrong. Even though he spoke so explicitly, the majority of the originally worried comrades still looked very uneasy.

"If these comrades insist that they are not wrong, what do we do?" A representative opinion was raised.

Chen Tianhua couldn't help but close his eyes upon hearing this question; he felt quite disappointed in his heart. It seemed that rectification within the Political Department was also imperative, and was even an extremely urgent task. He opened his eyes, "If we in the Political Department don't believe in organizational discipline, what should we believe in? Believe that 'hello, hello, everyone is good'? There are regulations on how to deal with this portion of comrades in the organizational discipline. If you ask me what to do, then I can only say, act according to organizational discipline, do whatever needs to be done!"

Even speaking to this extent, there were still comrades who were not convinced. "If they want to discuss whether the organizational discipline is correct, what then?"

Chen Tianhua stared at the questioning comrade with burning eyes. "If comrades request to publicly discuss issues of organizational discipline at a Party meeting, this shows that the comrade is obeying organizational discipline. Because organizational discipline requires everyone to speak openly at Party meetings if they have any problems, rather than engaging in private liaisons and private schemes. Of course, if after discussion they still refuse to obey the organization's resolution no matter what, then the organization can only expel them. This is the Party organization, this is organizational discipline."

Having spoken to this point, it could be considered thoroughly explained. A significant portion of the worried comrades looked much better. As for those who were still not convinced, they at least stopped saying anything. Chen Tianhua couldn't care less about managing so much at this moment; he began to arrange the work plan for the next step.

Regardless of the changes at the top, labor in the base area still had to continue. The excavation site at Yunlong Lake had also entered its final moments. The troops were given a six-day holiday, from New Year's Eve to the fifth day of the first lunar month. When the firecrackers for "Breaking Five" sounded, the troops would march into the construction site.

As the Regimental Political Commissar, besides continuing to be responsible for work, Gu Lu had to organize comrades to discuss and exchange ideas through various meetings. First, each company held its own meeting. Gu Lu found that after this break, the comrades' enthusiasm for work was generally not high.

At the Regimental Committee meeting, when Instructor Hu of the 9th Company, 3rd Battalion reported on the ideological work of the comrades in his company, he said with a helpless expression that was hard to describe: "When our company held a meeting, a comrade said that he didn't feel much when laboring at the time. Now seeing the construction site, his legs go a bit soft. Other comrades in the company felt he spoke what was in everyone's hearts. Now there is a general fear of work in the troops."

Hearing this, the instructors at other levels and the comrades of the grassroots Party committees all showed bitter smiles of agreement. The battalion-level instructors looked slightly nervous; after all, such a big thing had happened in the regiment. If this situation of "fearing hardship and fatigue" appeared again, how could they account for it?

Gu Lu was not so sensitive. He asked with a smile, "Instructor Wu, are you afraid?"

Instructor Wu laughed bitterly a few times, "What's the use of being afraid? The more afraid you are, the more unfinished work there is."

"We will speak to the comrades about this kind of complaint during the general assembly. Aside from this, do the comrades have any other opinions?"

Faced with this question, Instructor Wu hesitated for a while. After thinking for a moment, he tentatively said, "Now there are people in the troops saying that our army is going to kill meritorious officials. Regarding those matters in our troops, after the comrades discussed it, they felt that Regimental Commander Lu and the others indeed did wrong. The comrades don't feel that the matters in our troops are killing meritorious officials. However, after a lot of news from other troops came over, the comrades haven't seen it with their own eyes, so they feel half-believing and half-doubting."

"Then did the comrades say where they heard it from?" Gu Lu asked.

"It's the New Year, everyone walks around everywhere. People are saying these things everywhere. It's hard to determine who said it," Instructor Wu replied.

With Instructor Wu taking the lead, other instructors also said that their troops had such problems. Rumors about this rectification were flying all over the sky. Some said these comrades offended Chairman Chen, and some said these people offended the cadres of the Political Department. In short, the rumors had an atmosphere of "personnel struggle." The grassroots comrades were half-believing and half-doubting because there was no issue of personnel struggle in the things they saw with their own eyes. But for things they hadn't seen, everyone couldn't be sure.

Gu Lu asked, "Let's not talk about other comrades first. do we ourselves believe this is a personnel struggle? Did these comrades have problems because someone wanted to purge them, or did they violate discipline themselves?"

The comrades of the Regimental Committee looked somewhat troubled. After a long while, Instructor Wu said, "Commissar Gu, these comrades all made mistakes. But is dismissing them directly a bit too disrespectful?"

Before Gu Lu could speak, Regimental Commander Gao Zhisheng shouted, "What face does revolutionary work talk about? Having made such a big mistake, can't the position be removed? Instructor Wu, your thinking is incorrect."

Now the regiment was most afraid of making mistakes. Being criticized by Regimental Commander Gao Zhisheng like this, Instructor Wu immediately dared not make a sound.

Gu Lu hurriedly stopped the agitated Gao Zhisheng. He said to everyone, "Whether they should be dismissed or not, what we say doesn't count. Organizational discipline counts. I see many comrades feel that organizational discipline is very unfeeling. Then we might as well discuss organizational discipline with the comrades every day during breaks. No need for much every day, just discussing one rule is enough. What does everyone think?"

Everyone dared not oppose organizational discipline now. Since Gu Lu said so, everyone naturally expressed agreement.

After arranging the work in the regiment, Gu Lu went to the Political Department and found Chen Tianhua. Chen Tianhua had heard of Gu Lu; this Acting Regimental Political Commissar was highly regarded by Qi Huishen, Chai Qingguo, and Chen Ke. If not for being busy during this period, Chen Tianhua would have long sought out Gu Lu for a specific talk. Since Gu Lu came personally, Chen Tianhua temporarily put down the work in his hands and received Gu Lu.

"Director Chen, I want to ask something. We have processed so many comrades recently. Can the organization state the reasons why they were processed? This way, we can also explain to the comrades. Now there are many rumors saying that meritorious officials are being killed. If we can't clarify their matters and explain clearly to the comrades what mistakes they actually made, it will make the comrades feel very afraid."

Chen Tianhua had been preparing for the rectification issue these days. Those who came to find him were basically pleading for mercy, and he had forgotten about notifying the whole army. Hearing Gu Lu ask this, he nodded repeatedly. "This matter was my negligence. How about this, starting tomorrow, all processed matters will be reported to the whole army. Commissar Gu, thank you for your reminder."

Being thanked so straightforwardly by Chen Tianhua, Gu Lu's face turned red. He hurriedly said, "No need to thank, this is all for work. Seeing that Director Chen is also very busy, I'll leave now."

"Wait a moment," Chen Tianhua stopped Gu Lu. "Commissar Gu, what thoughts do the comrades in your regiment have regarding organizational discipline?"

"Everyone hasn't talked about these things before, and there hasn't been such large-scale processing of comrades before. So everyone was frightened. Starting tomorrow, our regiment will start from the 'Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention' and discuss one rule every day in every company and every platoon. There aren't too many rules; I reckon we'll finish discussing them in this month."

"Oh?" If the issue of notifying the whole army was Chen Tianhua being busy and forgetting to consider it, then conducting organizational discipline discussions in the troops was the work Chen Tianhua had prioritized arranging. He didn't expect Gu Lu to actually take the initiative to do it himself. Having encountered too many leaks and liaisons these days, Chen Tianhua couldn't help but suspect in his heart whether Gu Lu had any acquaintances in the Political Department.

This suspicion was quickly expelled from Chen Tianhua's mind. Gu Lu was a comrade transferred from outside and couldn't have any special acquaintances. Moreover, even if Gu Lu had received news, it couldn't be said that Gu Lu had done anything wrong. Even if Gu Lu didn't take the initiative to conduct organizational discipline discussions at the grassroots level now, Gu Lu would still have to start this discussion after Chen Tianhua finished arranging it. Even if Gu Lu was a comrade who knew how to secure personal gain, he could only be dealt with according to organizational discipline after he made a mistake in the future. He absolutely could not deal with Gu Lu just because suspicion arose in his heart.

Thinking of this, Chen Tianhua felt he was really being a bit paranoid. If Gu Lu wanted to claim credit, he should have taken the initiative to mention his arrangements in the regiment. This issue was asked by Chen Tianhua on his own initiative after forcibly holding Gu Lu back. Chen Tianhua didn't want to ask too much more. He said, "Ideological and political work must be done well, and grassroots work must also be done well. Comrade Gu Lu, do a good job."

"Yes!"

"You go back first."

Once Gu Lu left, Chen Tianhua sat back in his own seat. Originally, according to Chen Ke's intention, the first thing was to conduct organizational discipline discussions at the grassroots level of the troops. At least when he left Chen Ke, Chen Tianhua thought so. However, the views of the comrades in the Political Department regarding Zhou Zhentao's private liaisons were quite different from Chen Ke's. The Party organization controls personnel rights; this is the most critical rule in organizational discipline. Any personnel decision must be passed after discussion by the Party organization. Based on the current situation grasped, Zhou Zhentao had indeed united a group of people in an attempt to influence personnel transfers. Especially to have those processed comrades transferred to active duty positions. Speaking seriously, this was wanting to "set up another Central Committee" with Zhou Zhentao as the core.

If handled completely according to organizational discipline, arresting Zhou Zhentao, trying him, and shooting him wouldn't be considered an injustice. But on the matter of deciding how to deal with Zhou Zhentao, the comrades' opinions showed significant divergence. No one pleaded for Zhou Zhentao, or rather, no one dared to plead for Zhou Zhentao. The comrades raised other issues. Since he dared to "set up another Central Committee," Zhou Zhentao could absolutely not be planning this alone. Who exactly stood with him? In such a loose organization, who were the core members? Were there more people engaging in such things? Once these questions were raised, Chen Tianhua also felt a bit shaken in his heart. He suddenly felt whether the problem of Zhou Zhentao should be solved first. Gu Lu's appearance made Chen Tianhua waver again. Perhaps ignoring Zhou Zhentao's matter and concentrating on dealing with grassroots organizational discipline construction first was the urgent task.

After thinking back and forth without finding a result, Chen Tianhua simply went to see Chen Ke again.

After listening to Chen Tianhua's narration, Chen Ke said, "Comrade Tianhua, you are overstepping your authority. Is the Political Department also preparing to manage criminal investigation work? Since you think that a public investigation should not be launched against Comrade Zhou Zhentao for the time being, then you should concentrate on doing the most important work before the Political Department right now, which is to popularize organizational discipline education at the grassroots level. What are you worried about? Worried about Comrade Zhou Zhentao rebelling? Isn't the Political Security Department responsible for organizational security?"

"Chairman Chen, Comrade Zhou Zhentao is a comrade who has followed you since the time of the Whampoa Book Club. You also know his temperament and temper; he really is a good person. Loyal, not greedy, and very smart. If he really thinks the rectification is wrong and feels that the dismissed comrades shouldn't receive this kind of treatment, even if I arrest him, he won't say anything. Actually, let alone Comrade Zhou Zhentao, even Comrade Pang Zi hasn't said anything up to now."

This analogy was slightly nondescript; it seemed Chen Tianhua's evaluation of Pang Zi was not high.

"Comrade Tianhua, valuing loyalty is not a bad thing. A person, when treating friends, naturally should value loyalty. The focus of the current contradiction is the question of how to treat organizational discipline. Even if some comrades have a wrong understanding of organizational discipline, I believe the Party organization cannot abandon them just like this. If you sincerely want to save these comrades, throw all the Political Department's strength into the grassroots organizational discipline discussion work right now. After the organizational discipline discussion is launched at the grassroots level, not only are the grassroots comrades studying and discussing, but the cadres are also studying and discussing. Presumably, at least a portion of the comrades will be able to find the correct train of thought and change their previous thinking during this learning and discussion process."

Chen Tianhua did not speak immediately this time. He suddenly understood one thing: his sense of confrontation in the rectification movement was too strong. It was as if one was either an enemy or a friend. Chen Ke, however, was not like this. Just like the rectification instruction Chen Ke proposed of "kill none, arrest few," even if Chen Ke didn't think all comrades could become qualified People's Party members through rectification, Chen Ke at least never gave up on any comrade. In this regard, Chen Tianhua really couldn't compare to Chen Ke.

Having determined this, Chen Tianhua let out a long breath. "I will go arrange grassroots work right now!"

When going out, Chen Tianhua found that he might still have to delay grassroots work slightly. Since Chen Tianhua had already realized where his own problem lay, he found that there were quite a few comrades in the Political Department who held a strong sense of confrontation just like him. It couldn't be said that these comrades were not good comrades, but they precisely lacked Chen Ke's patience and tolerance. Even less did they have Chen Ke's thinking based on this patience and tolerance.

As soon as he returned to the Political Department, Chen Tianhua convened a Party Committee meeting. After recounting his discussion with Chen Ke on this issue, Chen Tianhua said, "Comrades, it's not that if all bad people are killed, only good people will remain in this world. Because a person's goodness or badness is different in different matters. When the base area first started construction, these comrades who have made mistakes now could be said to be top-notch good comrades. Do you say they have turned bad now? I personally think we cannot judge like this. They are the same as before, only that with the development of the base area and the development and progress of our People's Party, they have started to fall behind. Under the new situation, there naturally must be new standards. Under these standards, they made mistakes. So we cannot beat these comrades to death with one stick and think they are bad people. This does not conform to the historical materialist view."

Chen Tianhua's words did not trigger too much thinking among the comrades. Seeing everyone's expressions, Chen Tianhua knew. He stopped this topic and turned to start a more practical work arrangement. "Starting tomorrow, every troop must begin arranging organizational discipline discussion work. Every soldier, every comrade must participate in it. We must reach a consensus. This is the only standard of judgment for our People's Party, for our Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. This standard is the same for new recruits, for Chairman Chen, and for every one of us. This is the iron discipline of our People's Party."

Now the majority of the comrades perked up, and everyone began to listen seriously to Chen Tianhua's arrangements.

Before recounting the arrangements, Chen Tianhua made up his mind that as soon as this discussion activity started, he would begin a serious rectification inside the Political Department. It wasn't that because the Political Department was in charge of political work, all its members were qualified.