After reading Zhang Zhenfang's telegram, Yuan Shikai merely let out a cold snort and handed the telegram to Wang Shizhen who was beside him. Wang Shizhen picked up the letter and read it carefully. It stated that many people had recently left the People's Party, and Zhou Zhentao, who had once served as a division commander in the People's Party, had stayed in Kaifeng for a period and discussed the overall situation with Zhang Zhenfang.

As the Minister of War, Wang Shizhen was also responsible for intelligence work. After reading it, he frowned slightly. Recently, the People's Party had carried out a severe crackdown on the Beiyang intelligence network, and Wang Shizhen in Beijing had not received this news.

"Pinqing, what exactly does this telegram mean? If he wants to say something, why not just write a letter? What is it that cannot be discussed clearly?" Yuan Shikai asked. Receiving such a disjointed telegram from Zhang Zhenfang, where he seemed to be holding back, made Yuan Shikai very curious.

As usual, Wang Shizhen pondered in silence for a while before slowly answering, "It is likely that Zhang Zhenfang has not handled his duties in Henan well, and there are some things he dares not say."

With the telegraph and the Beijing-Hankou Railway, news between Henan and Beijing could travel in just one day. Yuan Shikai trusted his cousin Zhang Zhenfang very much. He had heard about the People's Party's "infiltration" in Henan, but since the People's Party had not actively deployed troops so far, Yuan Shikai was happy to let Zhang Zhenfang maintain the situation in Henan. Hearing Wang Shizhen say this, Yuan Shikai felt that something was indeed amiss. Yuan Shikai asked Wang Shizhen, "Why doesn't Zhang Zhenfang speak frankly?"

Wang Shizhen replied, "Governor Zhang was ordered by the Great President to govern Henan. He naturally tries his best to do the job well. When encountering some issues, he will not easily complain to the Great President. I think the Great President might as well send a telegram to ask him exactly what happened. Presumably, Governor Zhang will then tell the truth."

Hearing Wang Shizhen's suggestion, Yuan Shikai neither nodded in agreement nor shook his head in opposition. A look of hesitation appeared on his face. After a pause, Yuan Shikai said, "Pinqing, national affairs are difficult right now. Which province isn't clamoring for money, grain, and tax exemptions? Even if I send a telegram to ask, what Zhang Zhenfang will say is nothing more than these things. Even if he says it, what can I do? Appointing him as the Governor of Henan is for him to manage Henan's affairs well. If he complains to the central government about every little thing, it will just set a bad precedent like in the previous dynasty."

In the final years of the Qing Dynasty, the central treasury was exhausted, especially after the Boxer Indemnity, when the central government made the provinces bear the indemnity. Even when encountering floods or droughts, the central government adopted the method of letting localities raise disaster relief materials. Since the localities could not count on the central government, local officials naturally became estranged from the central government. The Manchu Qing perished like dust because the gentry who bore the taxes and the officials responsible for collecting taxes were all estranged from the central government.

Yuan Shikai was naturally very clear about this change. Those country bumpkin landlords who had never seen the world, and those Revolutionary Party members who were mostly overseas students, could naturally think that the Manchu Qing was the culprit for everything. They either shouted for "constitutionalism" or simply shouted for "revolution". As if once the Manchu Qing handed over power, the world would be well-governed. Yuan Shikai certainly could not agree with this idea. When the little Emperor Xuantong was on the throne, the many problems the country faced could not be solved simply because a little doll like Xuantong rolled off the dragon throne, or because the Manchu group was swept away. After Yuan Shikai came to power, these problems were not only not solved immediately, but because of the regime change and social turbulence, they were even harder to handle than before. Appointing provincial governors was to let them solve problems for Yuan Shikai, not to let Yuan Shikai wipe their asses.

Wang Shizhen also understood this very well. From the very beginning, Wang Shizhen did not agree with overthrowing the Manchu Qing. This was partly because Wang Shizhen believed that loyalty was a necessary moral integrity, and partly because Wang Shizhen believed that "implementing constitutionalism to change the state structure" was acceptable, but attempting to solve actual political problems through a model of dynasty change was completely unrealistic. Rashly doing so would only result in "suffering harm before receiving any benefit".

At present, the Beiyang government barely managed to hold the situation together, and it was only barely. The current three pillars of Beiyang were, first, the Beiyang Army; second, the "treaty that is not a treaty" with the People's Party; and third, the support of foreign governments for the Beiyang government.

The latter two pillars were quite unstable. The People's Party had not joined the parliament until now. With Chen Ke's personality, he could turn hostile at any moment. The secret treaty between Chen Ke and Yuan Shikai appeared to be of great help to Yuan Shikai. Even if it were leaked, it would not be a blow to Chen Ke's prestige, but would instead deeply ingrain Yuan Shikai's image of "selling out the country for glory" domestically. The Beiyang government simply had no means to suppress Chen Ke.

As for the foreigners, the British tried to win over Yuan Shikai to ensure the smooth implementation of the fixed quota trade agreement. This co-opting was merely an expedient measure for the British. If there were slight problems with the fixed quota trade agreement, the British co-opting could immediately turn into coercion. As for the Japanese side, they were after interests in the three Northeast provinces, hoping to expand investment there. It was not any heartfelt support for Yuan Shikai himself.

Nominally, Yuan Shikai was the President of the Republic of China, possessing the power to command the world. In reality, apart from being able to command the Beiyang Army, it was good enough if the governors of other provinces didn't cause trouble for Yuan Shikai. To keep the power to command the Beiyang Army, the Yuan Shikai government, regardless of how much tax it could collect, had to fork out millions of taels of silver to the Beiyang Army every year. This financial burden was truly too heavy.

Both were adept at politics and had worked together for many years. They knew the situation they faced without even mentioning a word. Yuan Shikai did not speak, and Wang Shizhen did not speak either. After a long while, Yuan Shikai said, "Pinqing, my mind is made up. The most important thing now is to take the opportunity of the fixed quota agreement to expand our Beiyang's exports. Only after the money is in hand can the situation be stabilized. If Chen Ke can get rich by exporting, we definitely can too."

"Then what about Governor Zhang?" Wang Shizhen asked. Since Zhang Zhenfang had sent such a telegram, it would seem heartless if the central government ignored it completely.

Yuan Shikai replied calmly, "Tell him that no matter what disturbance the People's Party makes, he must stabilize Henan. As long as we get through this juncture, the People's Party matter can definitely be resolved."

Two days later, Chen Ke couldn't help but laugh after reading the content of this telegram: "Oh? Get through this juncture? It seems Yuan Shikai really doesn't want to loot a burning house."

Shang Yuan did not intend to join in the fun. He asked seriously, "Can Henan hold on?"

Hearing these murderous words, Wu Xingchen couldn't help but laugh, "Zhang Zhenfang just sent a few more spies, that's all. Secretary Shang, you look even angrier than the comrades from the People's Internal Affairs Commission."

Shang Yuan was amused despite his anger, "I am not angry at Zhang Zhenfang at all. Without him in Henan, we couldn't have established a foothold in Henan so quickly. It's just that Chairman Chen noticed Bai Lang in Henan long ago, plus with Wang Jingwei beside Bai Lang, the Tongmenghui is now eager to conquer its own territory. Commander Wu, how far do you think they can fight?"

Wu Xingchen put away his smile, "Henan doesn't just have Bai Lang now. No matter how good Bai Lang is at fighting, it's still a simple peasant uprising. I'm afraid he is no match for the Beiyang Army. On the contrary, how should we treat these rebels like Bai Lang?"

Speaking of this, Wu Xingchen looked at Chen Tianhua, "Director Chen, peasant uprisings are currently spontaneous and far from reaching the level of self-consciousness. They are just instinctively resisting the injustice they encounter. I personally do not think we should support them. You have worked with Pang Zi twice, don't you know their kind of virtue?"

Chen Tianhua did not answer immediately. Wu Xingchen's example was really good. After thinking for a moment, Chen Tianhua nodded in agreement, "If Bai Lang himself has not truly recognized the essence of revolution and is just a local armed leader who rose up in rebellion, I agree not to give him any support. However, it is necessary for us to send people to seize the command of this armed force. We can ignore Bai Lang's life or death, but we cannot ignore the life or death of the common people."

"You mean..." Wu Xingchen was very interested in Chen Tianhua's words.

"Wang Jingwei is now in Bai Lang's team. What he wants is influence over this team. We can also send people to join Bai Lang's team. Since the fall of the Manchu Qing, I have been reflecting. Chairman Chen said that the Manchu rulers did not even have special common interests with the bannermen. Can the interests of those leaders in Bai Lang's team be consistent with the interests of those ordinary participants in Bai Lang's team? Can Bai Lang's team be consistent with the interests of the people in their locality? As long as the comrades we send can hide their identities and stand with the local people in Henan, I think Bai Lang's personal success or failure need not be discussed."

Wu Xingchen and Chai Qingguo both came from peasant uprising backgrounds, and they understood Chen Tianhua's words extremely clearly. Infiltrate the rebels and seize real power of the rebel army by following the people's revolutionary line. If the People's Party wanted to directly seize superficial control of Henan, it would not be difficult. The difficulty was that after the People's Party seized superficial control of Henan, it would still be detached from the people of Henan. By participating in the Bai Lang Uprising, the People's Party could solidly begin to take root in Henan. This was indeed a very effective strategy.

Chen Ke had taken the postgraduate entrance exam back in the day, but didn't pass. He had a deep impression of the last political question that year. The gist was that at a certain stage in history, the Party required party members to join various local forces and seize the leadership of these local forces. Chen Ke roughly remembered that he had interpreted this question from the perspective of political maneuvering. He was quite proud when he answered this question, feeling that his insights into history finally had a chance to be displayed.

Chen Ke had long forgotten exactly what he wrote back then. But Chen Tianhua's suggestion reminded Chen Ke of that question. If the current revolutionary cause was an exam, Chen Tianhua would at least get full marks on this question.

Shang Yuan, Wu Xingchen, and Chai Qingguo did not have any intention of objecting. Everyone just thought that excellent comrades needed to be selected to implement this plan. Wu Xingchen emphasized a key point, "In terms of holding onto power, the leaders of the peasant uprising army are probably more proficient than our People's Party comrades. Since Bai Lang can have considerable influence locally, he is naturally not an incompetent person. The more shrewd he is, the less we can let him know the identities of our comrades."

The comrades talked for a while. Seeing that Chen Ke had not participated from beginning to end, Chen Tianhua turned to Chen Ke, "Chairman Chen, what is your opinion on this approach?"

"I think this line of thought is not bad. Everyone can be responsible for doing this. If there is any suggestion on this matter, I have just one. What we want is to take root in Henan, not to follow Bai Lang. We want to be local leaders, not Bai Lang's trusted aides."

The comrades nodded repeatedly. If one wanted to be Bai Lang's trusted aide, one was destined to detach from the masses. Wu Xingchen nodded repeatedly, "We definitely have to do it this way."

Shang Yuan didn't understand the characteristics within the peasant uprising army very well. Up to now, he had been engaged in formal government work, so Shang Yuan directly asked about what he was concerned about, "Chairman Chen, I heard your earlier meaning was that Yuan Shikai may not be able to survive this juncture?"

Seeing that someone noticed this point, Chen Ke laughed, "Everyone thinks Yuan Shikai can suppress Bai Lang. However, this war is unlikely to end in a short time. If it ends within one or two months, we naturally have nothing to say. If this war lasts for a year, or even two years. We have looked down on Yuan Shikai from beginning to end, but other provinces originally didn't know the actual situation of Yuan Shikai. Seeing the performance of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang government, what will they think?"

The People's Party adhered to the materialist conception of history, which meant that everyone paid lip service to relying on the people, not on gods or emperors, and not pinning hopes on heroes who appeared by chance. It was just that when facing Chen Ke, everyone unknowingly and temporarily went against their own understanding. When Chen Ke said Bai Lang might be able to hold on for a year or two, the comrades couldn't help but think along the lines Chen Ke envisaged. Even unknowingly, the comrades believed that Bai Lang could hold on for a year or two against Beiyang.

"If it takes a year or two to deal with Bai Lang, it can only speak to Yuan Shikai's incompetence," Wu Xingchen was the first to answer.

Chen Ke nodded, "So, I am looking at this matter from the perspective of interests. We shouldn't have any official intervention. Once there is overt intervention, Beiyang will feel that failure is nothing. Now Beiyang themselves admit they can't beat our People's Party. If Beiyang exhausts all their strength and still cannot suppress Bai Lang, their weakness will not only be exposed to the eyes of the world, but the Beiyang Army itself will also feel great discouragement. At that time, we can talk about the issue of the central government."

"The issue of the central government?" Including Shang Yuan, some didn't completely understand.

Chen Tianhua asked with some surprise, "Does Chairman Chen want to be this Great President?"

"What's so good about being that Great President?" Chen Ke laughed, "Why do I call the current government the Beiyang government? Because all departments in this government are controlled by the Beiyang faction. When Beiyang completely displays its powerlessness and incompetence, it is necessary for us to seize part of the central power. Of course, we must have the final say in our base areas, and we must also have the final say in a considerable part of the power within the central government."

"Hit him when he's down, this is also only right and proper," Chai Qingguo immediately expressed his agreement.

"So comrades suggest achieving our infiltration of Henan through the Bai Lang Uprising. I support it very much. However, if Beiyang's weakness and incompetence are completely and publicly displayed, this is the direction we want to utilize in this matter. Of course, before this, we need to take advantage of this excellent opportunity to complete internal rectification. Our goal is always to liberate all of China. After the entire rectification is completed, we will start attempting to enter the central government."

Everyone nodded repeatedly. This goal had not been raised so clearly for a long time. Facing the complicated practical work, the comrades simply had no time to determine this distant issue.

Having received everyone's support, Chen Ke began to assign specific tasks. "Now we need to form five sets of leadership groups: Party, Government, Military, NPC, and CPPCC. Each set of leadership groups must have its own clear division of labor. For example, regarding the government leadership group, let's not come up with so many unconventional things. The key point right now is one: agricultural production and industrial production must be socialized. The government is responsible for guiding and organizing labor. Why do I repeatedly emphasize the greatness of the Chinese people? Because ordinary Chinese people all have a consensus: Chinese people know that if one does not work for a day, one does not eat for a day. If the government guides production work, as long as science and democracy can be practically popularized at the grassroots level, work should not be a problem. Without strong grain production capacity, there is no future for China. As the old Chinese saying goes, food is the first necessity of the people."

This no longer required deliberately persuading the comrades. The reason why the People's Party could receive great support in the countryside these years was that the People's Party had already begun to effectively introduce administrative officials into agricultural production, which originally belonged to the responsibility of the broad masses of working people themselves. Without the various supports provided by the government, the agricultural production efficiency in the base area countryside could not have improved so quickly.

"Of course, the five major leadership groups are not proving themselves individually. The whole country is a single game of chess. On this point, we must pay attention to cooperation. We cannot say that when encountering problems, we shift the blame to others, and when encountering credit, we are unwilling to lag behind. This is the issue of future organizational perfection and construction."

After Chen Ke finished speaking, Shang Yuan couldn't help but smile. He said with high spirits, "The workload isn't small, is it?"

"Yes, the workload isn't small." Chen Ke nodded in agreement. "Then in agricultural production, there need to be backbones, main forces, and mainstays. I think the Engineering Corps and Railway Corps are such mainstays in construction. Comrade Chai Qingguo, I want to ask you, are you willing to undertake the work of the Engineering Corps in Huaihai Province? This will be heavy work concerning the entire infrastructure construction of Huaihai. I even want to establish an Engineering Corps Command Academy and a Railway Academy to train a large number of professional technical personnel in this area. But this force must be responsible by a reliable comrade."

Chai Qingguo was not surprised by Chen Ke's words. Many people outside had rumored that Chen Ke prepared to hand over the Engineering Corps formation work to Gu Lu. Chai Qingguo didn't even have the interest to refute the rumors. If Chen Ke prepared to let Gu Lu be responsible for this branch of the military, then why arrange Chai Qingguo as the Commander-in-Chief of Engineering, responsible for the Xuzhou Yunlong Lake project? The meaning within this could not be clearer.

Chai Qingguo had already thought about his own staying or leaving. Hearing Chen Ke ask this, Chai Qingguo immediately stood up and saluted Chen Ke, "I resolutely obey the organization's arrangement."

Chen Ke also stood up and returned the salute seriously, "With you responsible for this important work, I am truly at ease."

Chai Qingguo nodded, "Chairman Chen, you asked me to be this person in charge, I also have to raise a condition first. No matter if Comrade Gu Lu is prepared to be kept for Chairman Chen's own use, or prepared to be kept for the Engineering Corps use, I want this comrade. You must promise me."

"This, of course." Chen Ke nodded in agreement.