After the Spring Festival, the first phase of the Yunlong Lake construction project was completed ahead of schedule after a month of intense work. Like previous large-scale infrastructure projects, large billboards were erected at the Yunlong Lake construction site, depicting the artist's impression of the completed project. The Yunlong Lake in the rendering was a scene of green hills and clear waters. This was just a large reservoir with a total area of 7 square kilometers, but including the low-lying areas and mountains covering more than 60 square kilometers around Yunlong Lake, this would be a fairly extensive wetland area.

According to surveys, once the August 1st Dike was built, the average water depth of Yunlong Lake at the safe water level would be close to 30 meters. The total water storage capacity would reach 200 million cubic meters. Unless there was a super-flood, the probability of Xuzhou being flooded would be reduced to a very low level.

However, the beautiful scenery on those large posters was just a future concept. In the early spring of 1912, the Yunlong Lake presented to everyone was a large earthen pit of unprecedented scale. It was dug very neatly, but it had nothing to do with beauty. First, the masses withdrew from the construction site, followed by most of the troops. The subsequent work was the responsibility of the relevant technical arms; the sheer physical labor was finally over.

Zhou Zhentao did not beam with joy like the soldiers. The soldiers knew that the heavy work of digging pits had come to an end, and next would be rest and reorganization, so they were naturally happy from the bottom of their hearts. Reorganization was not just rest; it included merit evaluation, awards, and even promotions. Every item was good news for the comrades. But in Zhou Zhentao's view, this well-deserved rest not only failed to make him happy but instead caused him strong displeasure.

The Political Department required that a discussion and summary meeting be held before this merit evaluation. More importantly, this officer personnel adjustment was different from before. previously, it was recommendation by the grassroots and assessment by the leadership. This time, the adjustment of officers at the battalion level and below became recommendation by the leadership and assessment and approval by the grassroots. Zhou Zhentao never expected the Political Department to pull this move. He sat in his chair with a gloomy face, not saying a word.

While he was lost in thought, the guard came in to report, "Commander Zhou, Comrade Chu Shiliang requests to see you."

"Not seeing him!" Zhou Zhentao's voice revealed the annoyance in his heart. As the guard was about to leave, Zhou Zhentao stopped him again, "Let him in."

This time, the fawning and excited look on Chu Shiliang's face was gone. He rushed to Zhou Zhentao with a face full of anxiety, "Commander Zhou, you have to help me!"

Even though he knew exactly what Chu Shiliang was talking about, Zhou Zhentao still didn't respond directly, "What trouble have you encountered now?"

Chu Shiliang said anxiously, "Commander Zhou, regarding this personnel adjustment, the promotion from platoon commander to company commander requires a work review. In our company, I only rank third. Commander Zhou, you have to help me."

A company had four platoons, so ranking third meant being second to last. Even if one wanted to compete for the job of company commander, logically speaking, a one-in-four selection was basically a competition between the top two. Chu Shiliang didn't have any special performance in his work, so it was impossible for him to have a chance no matter what.

"How much is the gap between you and the second place?" Zhou Zhentao asked.

"Just a little bit," Chu Shiliang answered.

"Specifically how much?"

"This..." Chu Shiliang dared not state the gap directly.

"Exactly how much is the difference?" Zhou Zhentao pressed.

"A difference of 15%," Chu Shiliang muttered.

Zhou Zhentao felt a burst of rage in his heart. If it was only a difference of 1% or even 3%, Chu Shiliang could say that the difference with other comrades was limited. But this 15% was almost one-sixth. Zhou Zhentao completely couldn't understand how Chu Shiliang had the thick skin to come to him.

Chu Shiliang obviously didn't feel there was anything wrong with him. Seeing Zhou Zhentao remain silent, he hurriedly leaned forward and tentatively said, "Commander Zhou, I'm your man. If you put in a word with the company, they will definitely listen to you."

Looking at Chu Shiliang's matter-of-fact expression, Zhou Zhentao didn't even have the mood to scold him anymore. *Xiao ren* (petty people/vile characters) really couldn't be used; Zhou Zhentao thoroughly understood this truth. Zhou Zhentao originally thought that petty people were at least capable of doing things, just that they had character issues. If used well, they might not be a force that couldn't be borrowed. But a petty person like Chu Shiliang, who only knew how to curry favor and flatter, who was unwilling to lag behind when seeking promotion but was incompetent when it really came to working—he was useless.

Just as he was about to kick Chu Shiliang out, he heard Chu Shiliang continue, "Commander Zhou, after the New Year, our platoon still completed the workload. The completed workload was nearly 20% more than before the New Year. But the platoon commanders of the other few platoons have gone crazy wanting to be promoted. The one ranked first completed nearly 40% more workload than before the New Year. I also worked hard, but I didn't expect them to produce so much more."

This situation surprised Zhou Zhentao a bit, and his anger towards Chu Shiliang actually dissipated quite a lot. "Then how did the workload of the other platoons go up?"

"After the merit evaluation criteria were detailed this time, the more work completed, the more bonus money. I heard those two platoon commanders encouraged the soldiers all day long to work more and earn more. When the company held meetings, they wouldn't go if they could avoid it, putting all their time into working," Chu Shiliang said with great grievance.

"They knew to work, so what were you doing?" Zhou Zhentao asked with a frown.

"Wasn't I asking around for news and attending meetings?" Chu Shiliang said even more aggrievedly.

How could Zhou Zhentao not hear the implication in Chu Shiliang's words? Because he was gathering intelligence for Zhou Zhentao, Chu Shiliang's work was affected. Therefore, Chu Shiliang felt that Zhou Zhentao had a responsibility to help him get this competitive opportunity.

"Comrade Chu Shiliang, merit evaluation is a matter for the entire army. This depends on the total completion. What I say alone doesn't count."

"Commander Zhou, you are the Division Commander. In our division, if what you say doesn't count, then who does?"

Zhou Zhentao already knew he was wrong. The reason for the mistake was that he shouldn't have paid attention to someone like Chu Shiliang from the start. Because Chu Shiliang wasn't the kind of person who only thought about earning merit by himself; once there was an opportunity, he would push the responsibility onto others.

At this moment, Zhou Zhentao could kick Chu Shiliang out, or directly order him to get out. However, because he realized his own mistake, Zhou Zhentao was full of dissatisfaction with himself, which actually suppressed his anger. He tried to speak as pleasantly as possible, "I know about this matter. I will tell you if there is any news."

"Thank you, Commander Zhou, for the promotion. I will definitely work hard for you in the future." Chu Shiliang left excitedly after thanking him profusely.

"Wretched fate!" Zhou Zhentao cursed inwardly as he watched Chu Shiliang's retreating figure.

The peace of mind brought by sending Chu Shiliang away didn't last long. Zhou Zhentao could send Chu Shiliang away, but he couldn't send the Political Department away. Zhou Zhentao still had to do the work arranged by the Political Department. After thinking for a while, Zhou Zhentao asked his guard to invite Li Guangshan from the Staff Department to the division headquarters.

Li Guangshan was a mid-level staff officer in the Operations Section of the Staff Department and was formerly Zhou Zhentao's subordinate. Upon meeting, Zhou Zhentao asked, "Guangshan, is there any news recently?"

A trace of guilt appeared on Li Guangshan's face, "Commander Zhou, the Staff Department has been emphasizing confidentiality discipline recently. I can't tell you some news anymore."

Zhou Zhentao could pull a long face at Chu Shiliang, but he was very amiable towards Li Guangshan. Even though he was rejected outright, he didn't show the slightest dissatisfaction. Zhou Zhentao said sincerely, "Guangshan, look at what you're saying. Naturally, I won't inquire about military secrets. It's just that you have access to a lot of intelligence, and your judgment on many pieces of intelligence is very accurate. I just want to find some opportunities for those comrades. To be dismissed from office just for such a trivial matter, I think it's really a pity."

Even though Zhou Zhentao's attitude was so good, Li Guangshan didn't seem moved by him. "Commander Zhou, the Staff Department has also been rectifying its style, requiring staff personnel not to say anything to the outside. A while ago, quite a few spies and agents were caught. Some of them were actually local people in Xuzhou who supported our revolutionary work quite a bit. If they hadn't been caught, and with both human and material evidence present, we really wouldn't dare to believe those people were actually special agents. Commander Zhou, regarding past matters, I've helped everyone I could. From now on, I really dare not violate discipline again."

Even if Zhou Zhentao was broad-minded, facing Li Guangshan's words, he felt a bit embarrassed. "Comrade Guangshan, do you think I look like a special agent?" Zhou Zhentao said with a touch of sarcasm.

"I didn't mean that." Li Guangshan shook his head gently. "Commander Zhou, for some things, if we helped, we helped. If we can't help, we can't help. After studying for this period of time, I feel more and more afraid in my heart. Before, it was because I wanted to help those comrades and find some opportunities for them to establish merit. But this news spread too widely, and it didn't manage to help those comrades. I am timid myself and dare not admit what I did before. But in the future, I will not participate in this matter no matter what. Commander Zhou, I'm stopping here regarding this matter."

Zhou Zhentao didn't expect Li Guangshan's attitude to be so firm. He tried to persuade Li Guangshan to relax, but Li Guangshan just had one sentence, "This matter ends here." Having no other choice, Zhou Zhentao could only let Li Guangshan leave.

As soon as Li Guangshan left, Zhou Zhentao felt empty inside. Zhou Zhentao was also clear about the strict investigation into the leak incident this time. He really didn't expect Chen Ke to attach such importance to this matter. Judging from the intensity of Chen Ke's reaction, Li Guangshan had guessed Chen Ke's strategic vision correctly. But because the leak incident occurred, Chen Ke immediately froze all strategic discussions and turned to internal rectification instead. Zhou Zhentao was also a bit afraid of Chen Ke's handling method. If Chen Ke refused to let go of this matter and insisted on investigating to the end—even if Chen Ke had never been one to purge people—this definitely didn't mean Chen Ke would let Zhou Zhentao off.

In order to rescue those old comrades-in-arms and old brothers, Zhou Zhentao had shouldered such a big risk, yet he hadn't achieved the slightest effect in saving people. Whenever he thought of this, Zhou Zhentao was both afraid and annoyed. "What exactly does Chairman Chen want to do?" Zhou Zhentao thought with a burst of egoistic anger.

Chen Ke was currently attending the merit evaluation meeting in Gu Lu's regiment. He and Chen Tianhua were hiding in a room; outside the room was the venue for a company's merit evaluation meeting. The merit evaluation meeting completely continued the model of the grassroots Democratic Life Meeting that Gu Lu had started to promote. The debate between the participants and the discussants was quite intense.

"Holding this meeting is not for revenge or settling scores. The purpose of the meeting is to enable everyone to work better. To do the work better. It's wrong for you to keep saying that the distribution is uneven."

Outside, cadres were reasoning with the soldiers. Chen Tianhua knew that Chen Ke never liked to interfere in these problems that arose in actual work. So he took this time to tell Chen Ke about the development process of the entire meeting.

In the first few days, the soldiers only asked the cadres to explain some issues. Seven or eight days later, Chen Tianhua found that the cadres had withstood the storm of criticism and questioning from the soldiers in the previous days and began to regain their grasp of the meeting's theme. Slacking cadres were the minority after all; most cadres came from the same background as the soldiers, and when it came to working, they were no worse than the comrades.

In response to this situation, Gu Lu proposed the suggestion of "a small meeting every three days, a big meeting every five days." Moreover, he required that for any problem discussed at any meeting, a solution must be produced. Even if the solution was problematic, a solution had to be proposed first; one absolutely could not just raise problems without solving them.

Hearing Chen Tianhua introduce this point, Chen Ke couldn't help but praise, "This has indeed grasped the key."

Chen Tianhua also agreed with this quite a bit. Although he didn't tell Chen Ke, he couldn't help but recall a meeting not long ago.

"Then how come the comrades in charge of logistics aren't that hard-working?" a soldier asked. This question wasn't full of malice; compared to the comrades who dug and carried earth every day, the work of the comrades in logistics seemed much more relaxed.

"The comrades in logistics are not idle at all. You can't just look at how the logistics department isn't that tired when everyone is working. When everyone is resting, the logistics department isn't idle either," the cadres explained.

Empty explanations seemed to have little effect. The comrades neither opposed nor approved; they simply had no concept of it. Seeing everyone's reaction, the cadres were anxious inside but couldn't find a solution, so they could only sulk.

Chen Tianhua had remained silent when attending the meeting, but seeing this situation, he was amused. Seeing the suggestions everyone put forward becoming more and more outrageous—like bookkeeping, reporting, etc.—in short, it completely turned into a discussion of who was more relaxed, fundamentally deviating from the direction of solving the problem. Chen Tianhua couldn't help but interrupt, "How about this, I suggest that comrades take turns doing some jobs. For example, in the logistics department, except for a few posts that cannot be transferred, other tasks should be done in rotation based on squads. Arrange a duty roster and do it according to the roster. What do you all think? Whether the logistics department is hard work or not, you'll know once you do it yourself."

This was how it was arranged in the Party School and Military Academy. Students had to rotate posts, from standing guard to washing clothes and cooking. Regardless of whether you were a division commander, regiment commander, platoon commander, or clerk, everyone was treated equally.

Listening to Chen Tianhua's suggestion, both cadres and soldiers felt it was quite good. The look in the comrades' eyes when they looked at Chen Tianhua contained admiration. Chen Tianhua didn't say anything more; he just felt that this kind of thing should have been popularized in the army long ago, but he didn't expect that this system hadn't been implemented at the grassroots level.

Once this plan was passed, it began to be implemented the next day. When the general meeting was held for summary on the fifth day, the comrades assigned to the logistics department immediately began to complain on behalf of the logistics department.

Comrades in the labor sector ate on time and slept on time. Aspects of daily life were all the responsibility of the logistics department. And the logistics department always got up the earliest and went to sleep the latest. If not for such a schedule, it would be impossible for everyone to eat breakfast on time after getting up. In terms of labor intensity alone, the logistics department might not be as heavy as the labor sector. But in terms of working hours, the logistics department greatly exceeded the labor sector. As for the comrades' evaluation of the logistics department, naturally, it absolutely couldn't be called good. Managing logistics meant getting scolded; working hard but not getting enough praise. These comrades who temporarily went to the logistics department to participate in work had their eyes opened one by one.

Recalling the appearance of those comrades who had once determined that the comrades in the logistics department had easy jobs starting to complain on behalf of the logistics department one by one, Chen Tianhua couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Chen Ke didn't ask Chen Tianhua why he was laughing. If Chen Tianhua wanted to say it, or thought it was necessary to say it, Chen Tianhua would naturally tell Chen Ke. If Chen Tianhua didn't want to say it, pressing him was meaningless. Moreover, Chen Ke's attention was attracted by the discussion outside.

After the cadres and comrades discussed some viewpoints, the meeting entered the summary section.

Whether cadres or soldiers, all thought that Gu Lu's proposal that "during labor, the command headquarters must be built on the front line of labor" was very good. The comrades' once biggest complaint was "not seeing the cadres when working." After discussing with the comrades of the regiments and battalions, Gu Lu changed the cadres going to the regiment for meetings to battalion and regiment-level meetings being held on the front line and at the construction site as much as possible. This basically ensured that the cadres stayed on the front line for the vast majority of working hours. Not only could company and platoon commanders solve problems on the spot, but battalion and regiment cadres could also go to the grassroots more often. Many previous suspicions were immediately alleviated.

With this problem solved, most soldiers had nothing to say. The People's Party's system construction was quite perfect; from planning to logistical support, there were rules to follow. After public discussion, the cadres and soldiers discovered another problem: many systems had existed for a long time, but neither the cadres nor the soldiers had a way to understand the function of the systems very well and comprehensively.

"I don't want to be any official anyway; learning so many things is useless." A considerable number of soldiers viewed the problem with this mentality. When it came to evaluating merit, the comrades refused to yield an inch. But everyone eventually discovered that, in fact, the cadres' and soldiers' understanding of how to evaluate merit was vastly different. The democratic meeting quickly returned to the true nature of a work meeting. The only difference was that whether cadres or soldiers, they finally took the meeting seriously. Especially the soldiers, they finally dared to speak up at the meeting, instead of not asking even if they didn't understand, like before.

Originally, there wasn't much work that required reporting to superiors or asking superiors to coordinate. The problems comrades directly encountered were very small, detailed problems, but it happened that the soldiers didn't have ways to handle these problems. Without platoon and company commanders holding the fort on the front line, comrades often couldn't solve them smoothly, which greatly delayed the completion of the workload.

After this meeting walked onto the path of "grasping production, promoting revolution," private conflicts between individuals decreased, and the dedication and seriousness towards work increased a lot.

Just as Chen Ke was listening seriously to the comrades at the meeting outside the room enthusiastically discussing how to work better and how to distribute prizes, someone pushed the door open and entered. It was Liu Yongsheng.

Even with a serious attitude, Liu Yongsheng still spoke unhurriedly, "Chairman Chen, the person who leaked the secret has finally been caught."