Liu Jisheng ran back home in a panic, carefully bolted the main gate, and immediately rushed into the main house. As soon as he entered, he shouted in a low voice, " The government troops are here! Hide the grain, quick!" While warning his family, Liu Jisheng had already dug out an old sack and lunged for the flour vat.

This announcement triggered intense panic in Liu Jisheng's home. His wife was already running toward the side room where the wheat was stored, dragging their fourteen or fifteen-year-old son with her. By the time Liu Jisheng came out carrying a largely full sack of flour, he saw his wife and son had already dragged two hemp sacks filled with wheat into the courtyard.

"Cunzhong, don't take it all. Put that half-sack of wheat back," Liu Jisheng ordered.

Hearing this suggestion, Liu Jisheng's wife said anxiously, "Are you stupid! If we leave it here for them to see, won't it just get taken away?"

Liu Jisheng shouted angrily, "You're the stupid one! If the government troops come and see there's nothing to take, do you think they'll obediently let us off? Leave them something they can take, so we can at least keep more of the rest."

After speaking, Liu Jisheng made his son put the half-sack of wheat back in the side room. He handed the flour sack to his wife to carry, then turned to his daughter, who had followed them out timidly, and said, "Cunxiu, sweep the floor. Don't let anyone see flour on the ground."

"Dad, why?" Liu Cunxiu couldn't help asking.

Liu Jisheng said in an annoyed whisper, "If they follow the trail of flour, won't they find where we hid the stuff?"

Watching his daughter go to get the broom, Liu Jisheng patted the flour dust off the outside of the flour sack, then took his wife to the watermelon cellar dug behind the house to hide the wheat and flour. He tidied up the traces on the ground and piled a heap of firewood and straw over the cellar entrance. Liu Jisheng then took his wife back to the courtyard and carefully cleaned the flour traces off their clothes. He instructed his wife and children again, "You all hide inside the house. No one is allowed to come out into the courtyard. Even if they drag you out, don't come out voluntarily."

Having said all this, Liu Jisheng closed the door to the main house and carefully checked the courtyard gate himself before walking into the side room and sitting on a stool to catch his breath. Not long after, the sounds of men shouting and horses neighing could be heard outside, and the village dogs began to bark. The main body of the government troops must have entered the village. Liu Jisheng recited the names of every deity he knew in his heart, from the Supreme Venerable Sovereign to Shakyamuni, praying they would protect his family from this calamity. After reciting them once, he didn't feel reassured, so he recited them again.

Although he didn't usually believe in these things, Liu Jisheng continued to pray. After praying, Liu Jisheng suddenly thought of Chen Ke of the People's Party, the living immortal who had become increasingly famous in Zhuangzhai in recent years. But the deities he had just prayed to were dead; at most, one offered tributes, burned incense, and kowtowed. Chen Ke, however, was a living person, and Liu Jisheng was extremely cautious when dealing with living people. A few years ago, when he went with fellow villagers to buy the People's Party's "one-crop wheat" over a hundred *li* away, he had insisted on bringing back the wheat stalks. This caution had paid off; seeing the stalks and the ears of wheat on them, the villagers truly believed they had brought back good wheat. Even when issues arose later, the villagers didn't accuse those who went on the errand of deliberately cheating everyone. They simply thought the outsiders had scammed the people of Zhuangzhai.

Given this personality, Liu Jisheng was precisely the type who dared not pray to Chen Ke. If the prayer wasn't sincere, and Chen Ke didn't sense it, that would be fine. But if he prayed sincerely and Chen Ke actually found out, what kind of tribute was Liu Jisheng prepared to offer to satisfy Chen Ke?

While he was thinking about this, sounds of doors being smashed and people shouting could be heard from all directions. In a moment, someone was banging forcefully on Liu Jisheng's front gate. Suppressing the fear in his heart, Liu Jisheng got up and went out of the side room. As soon as he opened the gate, he saw several men in gray military uniforms standing outside. Because they hadn't expected the door to open so promptly, the men were somewhat surprised. After a pause, the leader among them pointed at Liu Jisheng and said, "You. Follow us to the village entrance."

"What for?" Liu Jisheng was naturally entirely unwilling to go.

The leader of the group in gray uniforms stepped forward, grabbed Liu Jisheng by the collar, and shouted loudly, "Go when you're told to go. Or are you looking to get in trouble with the law?"

Liu Jisheng didn't struggle. He just put on a smiling face and said hurriedly, "Gentlemen, I'll go, I'll go. But can I go with everyone else?"

Seeing that Liu Jisheng had no intention of resisting, the soldiers didn't push him too hard. "Sooner or later you have to go. Who knows if you'll really go later? Don't ask for a beating, go now."

As if to prove this statement correct, the sounds of women crying and cursing rose from a courtyard not far away. Liu Jisheng looked and saw government soldiers at every doorway, dragging people out. It seemed someone had tried to resist, and the soldiers immediately began beating them.

Liu Jisheng had always believed in understanding the times. How could a little commoner like him have the ability to resist others? Seeing someone being beaten, Liu Jisheng dared not say another word. He smiled and said, "Gentlemen, let me close the door."

There were about two hundred households in Zhuangzhai, and this time there were over five hundred government troops. Sooner or later, the male heads of each household were taken to the village entrance one by one. Those who didn't dare to resist fared better, but those who resisted even slightly were beaten black and blue, some even bound with ropes and dragged to the entrance.

The village's major landlord, Liu Cunyong, nicknamed "Three Clay Vats," stood in the crowd with his hands in his sleeves, looking uneasy and staying silent. Over five hundred soldiers surrounded these two hundred or so people. Some soldiers held rifles, while more held clubs, looking menacingly at the group inside the circle. Surrounded by numbers several times their own, even those who had resisted earlier dared not make a sound.

Just as the commoners were wondering what would happen next, they saw Zhu Binggui, the tax collector who usually collected taxes, wearing a military uniform and walking up onto the earthen platform at the village entrance. Because they had never seen him in these clothes before, the villagers almost didn't recognize him. Zhu Binggui shouted from the platform, "Everyone, please welcome our county's newly appointed Tax Police Battalion Commander, Commander Hu, to give a speech. Everyone applaud." After shouting, Zhu Binggui took the lead in applauding.

The commoners weren't in the habit of applauding, and having been dragged here by force, no one reacted. However, the five hundred soldiers applauded together, creating a lively atmosphere and impressive momentum.

Amidst the applause, a short, fat man walked up onto the earthen platform. His uniform style was similar to the soldiers' gray uniforms, but the color was blue-gray, and there were golden knots on his shoulders and chest, making him look distinctive.

"Fellow villagers, I am Hu Hansan, the commander of our county's Tax Police Battalion. This is my first time meeting everyone, and we'll be dealing with each other a lot in the future." Hu Hansan looked down at the commoners from above and said arrogantly, "I have good news to tell you all. In the past, taxes were collected several times a year. From now on, they will only be collected once."

The villagers hadn't expected this news at all. In recent years, to press for grain, tax collectors like Zhu Binggui would come to the countryside several times a year. If taxes were really only collected once a year, that would indeed be a good thing.

"Now that a republic has been established, according to Governor Zhang's orders, everyone must first elect a village head for the village. Don't worry, this village head will be chosen by you villagers yourselves; the government will absolutely not interfere. Once this village head is elected, according to the orders of Henan Governor Zhang Zhenfang, Lord Zhang, our village will implement a fixed tax. The tax for each village will be a set amount every year—no more, no less. Apart from us Tax Police, no one else is allowed to collect taxes from you. If anyone dares to collect taxes, you can tie them up and bring them to us, and we will punish them. aside from collecting taxes, we Tax Police will absolutely not deduct, take, or demand anything from the villagers. However, if the full amount of tax isn't collected, we won't be so easy to talk to."

The people of Zhuangzhai only half-understood these words. Seeing Zhu Binggui also wearing a uniform, everyone roughly guessed that the Tax Police had taken over tax collection duties. As for people impersonating tax collectors, the villagers didn't care at all. The tax collectors were always the same few people; who didn't know who? As for the republic and electing a village head, those were things the villagers didn't understand at all.

This "Tax Police Battalion Commander" Hu Hansan didn't make things too difficult for the people of Zhuangzhai. He left a few Tax Police men in the village to arrange the election of the village head and pasted some notices at the village entrance. Hu Hansan then withdrew the encirclement and left with his men. The soldiers didn't rob or take anything, a behavior that the villagers found unbelievable.

In the following days, the "Tax Police" left in the village began to tell the villagers about "electing a village head." The villagers naturally didn't understand democratic republicanism, nor were they interested. Hearing that anyone over 18, regardless of gender, could sign up to run for village head was what the villagers found incredible. The village head was equivalent to the *Lizhang* (village elder/chief), a prominent figure in the village. The *Lizhang* was always one of the major households in the village; they had never heard of the villagers choosing one themselves. Moreover, listening to what these "Tax Police" said, anyone, man or woman, could sign up to run, and the villagers would vote—whoever got the most votes would be elected. To the villagers' ears, this was a massive joke. The older people in the village just shook their heads, while some younger and more glib ones even joked, "Then let my woman go out and run for this village head."

The "Tax Police" left in Zhuangzhai were all middle-aged men in their thirties. Hearing this, they replied with a insincere smile, "Sure. As long as you're willing and your woman is willing, she can come out and run."

Hearing these malicious words, the people making snide remarks dared not speak up again.

But the responsibility of the elected village head was great. The tax each village had to pay was the same every year. The village head and the "Tax Police" would meet to determine the tax each household had to pay. If not enough tax was collected, the village head had to make up the difference himself. Hearing this news, the villagers lost interest in electing a village head. No one wanted to pay taxes, let alone force others to pay. The village head was the one doing this tax-paying business, so naturally, no one was willing to do it.

Liu Jisheng never liked causing trouble, and he had absolutely no interest in being village head. But seeing the government making such a big commotion, he felt an indescribable unease in his heart.

A few days later, the Tax Police Battalion that had left returned to Zhuangzhai under the leadership of Commander Hu Hansan. Upon returning, Hu Hansan gathered the Zhuangzhai villagers at the village entrance again, demanding they elect a village head within three days. This was a novelty for Zhuangzhai. Although the villagers didn't have the guts to run for village head, they had to participate in the spectacle no matter what.

During their free time these days, everyone discussed the matter. Since the elected village head would be in charge of tax collection, everyone wanted to find someone from a wealthy family who was kind-hearted to be elected. Everyone felt that the village's major landlord, Liu Cunyong, nicknamed "Three Clay Vats," was relatively kind. Moreover, Liu Cunyong had plenty of land and money. According to the government, if the tax collected in the village wasn't enough, the village head had to make up the difference. With Liu Cunyong's wealth, he could definitely cover the tax.

But the villagers saw that Liu Cunyong wasn't among those who signed up to be village head. In fact, apart from a few village ruffians and scoundrels, the only prominent figure willing to sign up was the former *Lizhang*, Liu Jishan. The people of Zhuangzhai felt something was wrong with this election. The *Lizhang* Liu Jishan was obsessed with officialdom and bent on becoming an official. He wasn't well-liked to begin with, and the ruffians were looked down upon even more. If they became village head, how would life go on?

Since this was the case, the villagers' votes naturally all went to Liu Jishan. The ruffians voted for themselves, but apart from their own votes, Liu Jishan was elected as the new village head with an unprecedentedly high percentage.

It wasn't just Zhuangzhai; by early May (Lunar Calendar), "elections" were held throughout Henan. Not only were village heads elected, but preliminary elections for councilors at various levels were also held. After receiving this news, Henan Governor Zhang Zhenfang breathed a slight sigh of relief. This was the first step of his overall plan. Originally, Zhang Zhenfang hadn't expected such a plan to succeed. But in reality, it was indeed completed. Zhang Zhenfang had to admit that the former People's Party division commander, Zhou Zhentao, truly had extraordinary vision.

After determining he wouldn't voluntarily resign from the post of Henan Governor, Zhang Zhenfang sent men to chase after Zhou Zhentao. Not long after Zhou Zhentao left, and with Zhang Zhenfang sending men to "escort" him, they finally caught up with him in Shan County. Zhang Zhenfang sincerely asked Zhou Zhentao for advice and promised a reward of five thousand taels of silver. Zhou Zhentao finally agreed to Zhang Zhenfang's request.

The idea Zhou Zhentao gave Zhang Zhenfang was to reorganize the original tax system, replacing tax collectors with Tax Police. Establish base-level officials through elections. Once both were completed, combine the new tax system with the elected base-level officials to implement forceful tax collection.

When explaining the key points of the new tax collection method, Zhou Zhentao pointed out, "I don't understand matters of officialdom, but tax collection ultimately comes down to how many people can be sent out to collect taxes. And whether a person responsible for the matter can be found locally when collecting taxes. Although there are far more commoners than Tax Police, the commoners are scattered in various villages. If we surround a village with numbers overwhelming the commoners each time we collect taxes, the commoners won't dare to rebel. Of course, the Tax Police cannot resolve private grudges. If they go into villages and take things randomly like bandits, that's a private grudge, and the commoners naturally won't swallow their anger. If tax collection remains just tax collection, the commoners will have to accept it when facing the government."

When the Tax Police was established, the former local tax collectors were also incorporated into it. What was needed was the true situation of local land holdings that the tax collectors possessed. Added to the land deeds and Fish-scale Registers held in each county, the government could grasp the approximate tax situation. Moreover, the Tax Police was independent of other armed forces, belonging directly to the Henan Governor. With these methods, plus a Tax Police School built in Kaifeng specifically to train Tax Police cadres, Zhang Zhenfang had a Tax Police force of about thirty thousand men by May of 1912 in the lunar calendar. Even if their equipment wasn't as elite as the Beiyang Army, Zhang Zhenfang finally felt like he held the great power of the Henan Governor in his hands.