After listening to Chai Qingguo's work arrangements, Gu Lu had already understood part of Chai Qingguo's thinking. As for the parts he didn't understand, he asked directly, "Commander Chai, are you afraid of breaking the pots and pans yourself, or are you worried that you can't convince the comrades?"

"I'm worried myself, and I'm even more worried that I can't convince the comrades. Chairman Chen put forward the concept of a core circle, which is to establish a defensive zone centered on the Yangtze River basin. Unless it is absolutely necessary, it is impossible to let the enemy enter this area at will." As Chai Qingguo spoke, he took out a map and circled an area along the Yangtze River basin with his finger. Studying maps was the most basic military training subject for the People's Party. Following the trajectory of Chai Qingguo's finger, Gu Lu understood the importance of this area. More than 70% of the People's Party's steel, 80% of its industry, and 60% of its grain production were within this area.

"But the palm is flesh, and the back of the hand is also flesh. How do we explain to the comrades in Henan why Henan can let the Beiyang Army fight their way in, but other areas can't? Is Henan not a base area? Regarding the issue raised by Secretary Zhang this time, I'm afraid Huaihai Province is also discussing it. The southern provinces basically only have us attacking them, and there is no issue of them attacking our base areas. Even if they fight their way in, they won't be able to advance much. But facing the direction of the Beiyang, it is possible for the Beiyang to conquer all of Henan and Shandong. In terms of strategic considerations, Chairman Chen considers too much and too specifically. I know that even if some parts were explained, we wouldn't understand. But he still has to explain it. Comrade Gu Lu, the reason I'm letting you go this time is to have you ask Chairman Chen about the entire strategic consideration. Of course, another consideration is because I think highly of you. Being able to learn strategic considerations from Chairman Chen is a very good opportunity. After you understand it and come back, our military region will also be able to have more comprehensive strategic considerations."

Gu Lu didn't care much about other people's comments about him. He was a staunch follower of Chen Ke, and what Chen Ke opposed most was using external evaluations to determine one's own views. He had spoken about a problem many times, "Since I was young, I made an extremely serious mistake, which was liking to look at myself from an external perspective. For example, when running, I always wanted to run like others, looking light and brisk. Later, I learned running from a teacher, and only then did I realize I was completely wrong. This relies on feeling one's own body, every joint, every muscle, every breath. All of this relies on one's own feelings. When running, not to say turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to everything else, at least the vast majority of attention is on feeling oneself. Where is the leisure to care about what I look like, let alone care about other people's opinions."

The method pointed out by Chen Ke was the most important guiding ideology in the march of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, and there had been many debates surrounding this method. However, even comrades who did not completely agree with Chen Ke's views only had objections on details, such as not being too immersed in one's own feelings and having to conform to the specific situation of each march. But in terms of basic training and experience, everyone still supported Chen Ke's idea.

Using this line of thinking in marching training, the troops launched discussions on more issues. Those in the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army who had read books raised the old saying, "If you fail, seek the cause in yourself," which was combined with "criticism and self-criticism" proposed by Chen Ke.

Gu Lu never thought he was good at everything, but rather that he was bad at everything and had to rely on learning to make up for his deficiencies. Regarding Chai Qingguo's praise, Gu Lu forgot it as soon as he heard it, but Gu Lu was very happy about Chai Qingguo proposing that he ask Chen Ke for advice on strategy. He asked, "Commander Chai, these matters are confidential. Will Chairman Chen tell me? And since Chairman Chen hasn't told you and Secretary Zhang about the strategic considerations, why would he tell me?"

Chai Qingguo nodded with satisfaction, "Because Chairman Chen has concerns right now. With his current position, he can't speak even if he has concerns, because he and the Central Committee bear the heavy responsibility of deciding strategy. Secretary Zhang Yu and I cannot have concerns; we must strictly execute the orders of the Central Committee. And as local leaders, we naturally have to propose plans that are most beneficial to the locality. But you can have concerns, because Chairman Chen and we all trust you. Can you understand?"

"Within our party organization, we should speak freely. If there are concerns, we must speak directly. I think this angle of consideration is incorrect." Gu Lu raised an objection straightforwardly.

"Speaking freely is directed at current specific affairs, not letting everyone talk nonsense thousands of miles off-topic. This kind of atmosphere has already begun to appear within the party, and some people just damn love to use a chicken feather as an arrow of authority. Regardless of whether they understand Chairman Chen's words, they first lift Chairman Chen out as a shield. Whatever Chairman Chen has said, they wantonly distort Chairman Chen's meaning according to their own wishes. That bunch of people's petty calculations to try and escape labor, or that attitude of thinking they are amazing and looking down on everyone, can you not know about it, Comrade Gu Lu? Now is a time of war. We have to be responsible for the revolution, and we also have to be responsible for these good-for-nothing comrades. A certain degree of secrecy is protection for revolutionary work. Even Chairman Chen can't determine some factors, but that bunch of people dare to fully make decisions and dare to talk nonsense. To solve these problems, we can only rely on rectification, but due to the war, the rectification is probably coming to an end. So at this time, you have to shoulder this responsibility. You don't need to be afraid. If Chairman Chen doesn't tell you, that means Chairman Chen really can't tell us. Secretary Zhang and I will absolutely not think that you have been derelict in your duty. How about it?"

Although he didn't completely understand Chai Qingguo's concerns, Gu Lu also knew where Chai Qingguo's worry lay. He answered seriously, "I will work hard to complete the mission."

Chai Qingguo nodded, "Going this time is not just to ask; you also have to report on the situation in Henan. Comrade Gu Lu, we are all at ease with you going to report the situation. Essentially, you are not a person who claims credit or shirks responsibility. So I can only send you."

Because of the railway, the time from Zhengzhou to Wuhan was shortened to a little over a day. Chen Ke was a child of the railway, and he was very clear about the most basic concept of block signaling control. And thanks to the wired telegraph, block signaling control could carry out communication very effectively. Under Chen Ke's instructions, the base area even established two independent telegraph and telephone systems: Telecom and Railcom.

Gu Lu very much agreed with two of Chen Ke's sentences, "Resolve knots as quickly as possible in everything." "If you have a butt, don't be afraid of the paddle; talk about it when the beating comes." Gu Lu didn't like to look back at the past. He felt that thinking about what he was doing was enough. As for the result, the process of doing things determines the result, rather than establishing a result first and then seeking the path to the desired result. In this regard, "On Practice" had already explained it extremely thoroughly.

Throughout the journey, Gu Lu fought fiercely with various reports. What Henan had done, what it had obtained, and what it was doing. Based on the current situation, rough inferences were made. This was really a multitude of loose ends. For what Gu Lu could figure out, he listed his own thoughts. For what he couldn't figure out, he directly wrote down where he couldn't figure it out. The time of more than a day passed quickly. Besides summarizing, Gu Lu also found quite a few problematic areas in the lists. He also made records in another notebook.

After arriving in Wuhan, Gu Lu was taken to Chen Ke's place by the comrades who came to welcome him as soon as he got off the train. Before seeing Chen Ke, Gu Lu specially washed his head properly with cold water. Only after thoroughly sobering himself up did he follow the guard into Chen Ke's office.

In the office, besides Chen Ke, there were also Chen Tianhua and He Zudao. It seemed that the three were all waiting for Gu Lu. Chen Ke asked Gu Lu to sit down, and then said, "Dare to advance in great strides, dare to retreat in great strides. The comrades in Huaihai Province and Henan Province have no confidence in their hearts. Facing the Beiyang, where should we retreat to? Comrades all have this question. So I have to tell the comrades some things."

Hearing this, Gu Lu immediately took out his notebook to prepare to take notes.

Chen Ke waved his hand, "Don't take notes. I have told everyone that strategy can triumph because it is correct, and tactics are only considered correct if they triumph. Among the strategic backbones this time, there are several elements that I cannot accurately grasp. This leads to me having to act arbitrarily in strategic formulation. I still want to tell the comrades about this issue, hoping to gain the comrades' understanding."

Gu Lu put away his notebook and began to calm down to listen to Chen Ke's introduction.

"I will first talk about our disadvantages, which probably many comrades have not seen clearly. At present, our People's Party's biggest enemy is actually not the Beiyang, but the foreign devils. Through diplomatic means, we have reached a tacit agreement with the United States. As long as our People's Party can protect itself, the Americans will not hit us when we are down; they will maintain trade with us. Even if the British cut off trade with us, our current factories will not fall into the danger of closing down. So our current enemies are the British, and Britain's thug in Asia, Japan. We will inevitably encounter them in the War of Liberation, and we must defeat them. With our current strength, we still cannot challenge these two countries head-on and achieve victory. Then we must wait for an opportunity. This opportunity is an all-out war in Europe. And this requires the enemy to make mistakes themselves; we are powerless to manipulate it."

Chen Ke explained the comparison of strength between the enemy and us very clearly. If the British did not fall into an all-out war, they would absolutely have the strength to support Yuan Shikai. As for the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in Asia, Japan, as Britain's thug, aimed to exchange fighting for British support.

"On this issue of foreign countries, I cannot make an accurate estimate because the initiative is not in our hands." Chen Ke clearly informed the three comrades of the current problem.

Chen Tianhua and He Zudao nodded slightly, while Gu Lu just gazed intently at Chen Ke. Gu Lu tried his best to memorize every sentence Chen Ke said. However, he didn't have too many associations. Being in China, being able to predict what Britain would do was already a manifestation of Chen Ke's superb ability. But Chen Ke was not a deity after all. Gu Lu would never consider letting him be able to manipulate Britain, which was more powerful than the base area. There was no need to think too much about things that couldn't be done.

"Our comrades in Huaihai Province believe that if we wait until Yuan Shikai is armed, we will have to face the enemy's heavy troop offensive. In this situation, it is better to strike first and launch an attack while the enemy's strength is still inferior to ours." Chen Tianhua said. As he spoke, he glanced at Gu Lu, "Presumably, the comrades in Henan also have this kind of consideration. Comrade Gu Lu comes from Henan, so he should be the clearest."

Gu Lu did not evade responsibility, "The comrades in Henan also have this suggestion, hoping to strike first and deal a blow to Yuan Shikai. However, I haven't considered these strategic issues much yet. I am only responsible for reporting the thoughts of the Henan comrades to Chairman Chen."

Chen Tianhua and Gu Lu both expressed their attitudes, and the eyes of the three people in the room fell on Chen Ke again.

Chen Ke said, "Comrades, regarding Yuan Shikai's issue, I can only say that time is not on the Beiyang side. Moreover, does our People's Party love civil war? I don't think so. Our People's Party has always opposed civil war. I want to ask everyone a question: what is the nature of this war? Or perhaps Comrade Gu Lu, you tell us."

"The purpose of our People's Party's war is to liberate the Chinese people," Gu Lu answered.

Chen Ke turned his gaze back to Chen Tianhua, "We do not aim to overthrow the Beiyang government as our ultimate goal; they are not worthy. Our goal is to liberate the people. And I have said repeatedly, it is precisely because of the people's revolutionary needs that we have the foundation for our revolution. Then we must let the people know through propaganda that if they want to get rid of their current suffering and live better than they do now, they can only choose our People's Party. This is the greatest basis for marching. When the people have needs, we naturally have to respond to the people's call. It is not because Yuan Shikai poses a threat to us that we are afraid and want to destroy peace and take the initiative to attack the Beiyang."

Chen Tianhua felt that sometimes Chen Ke really "spoke better than he sang." On this issue, such propaganda was of course acceptable, but it was a bit untimely for Chen Ke to sing such a high tune at such a meeting.

"Chairman Chen, if we explain it to the comrades like this, I'm afraid the comrades may not necessarily be able to accept it," Chen Tianhua said.

"Political work requires explaining to the comrades so that they can accept such political concepts. Our People's Party cannot detach itself from the people's needs and act on its own," Chen Ke answered with a firm attitude.

"But, the Beiyang is really going to attack us. If we have to fight sooner or later, we might as well fight early." Chen Tianhua was not convinced. At least he thought it was necessary to speak out the comrades' thoughts and then see how Chen Ke would explain it.

"We will absolutely not fire the first shot; this is our attitude towards peace. Political propaganda and competition are one thing, but military struggle is another matter. Why does the Beiyang want to rectify its military and prepare for war? Because they cannot compete with us politically. In the vast rural areas, our political work has achieved remarkable results and received the support of the vast number of peasant masses. So no matter how Yuan Shikai shouts, the entire masses of Henan have not risen up to oppose us. Including Yuan Shikai's hometown, in Xiangcheng where feudal ideology is thick, there are no peasants who steadfastly want to oppose us. Regardless of whether the peasant masses can understand, at least the land reform work has been promoted and has received recognition. In the areas surrounding our base area, peasants and villages are constantly coming over to our side. Isn't the fact that the expansion of our base area hasn't used military force at all enough to prove our advantage in politics? On the contrary, the enemy uses military force to intimidate the masses and uses political rumor-mongering to slander us. But the eyes of the masses are sharp; they have all made their own choices. If the situation of peace continues to be maintained, the enemy will be finished in a few years."

Hearing this, Chen Tianhua couldn't help but smile bitterly. Chen Ke's angle of understanding often exceeded his expectations. Indeed, if the People's Party was allowed to expand peacefully like this, the surrounding provinces basically wouldn't last long. Viewing the current situation from this angle, the People's Party should cherish the status quo of peace more than anyone else. The logic was correct, but this matter was indeed very difficult to explain.

Seeing that Chen Tianhua stopped speaking, Gu Lu spoke up, "Chairman Chen, our comrades in Henan have a question. If war breaks out, where exactly are we retreating to?"

"Who said we are retreating?" Chen Ke asked.

"The Central Committee proposed the plan of the Absolute Defense Circle. Will the areas outside this defense circle adopt a strategy of luring the enemy in deep? Some comrades are quite worried," Gu Lu answered.

"This..." Chen Ke immediately became a bit annoyed, but he soon understood the crux of the problem. "Comrade Gu Lu, the Absolute Defense Circle proposed by the Central Committee is an area to drive the foreign devils out of. It does not refer to an area of whether to let the Beiyang fight in or not."

Hearing this explanation, Gu Lu suddenly realized the truth. It turned out that the comrades had misunderstood the Central Committee's strategy.

Chen Ke had a helpless smile on his face. "If the enemy wants to attack the base area, we must crush the enemy's attack on the spot. The Absolute Defense Circle is an area where hostile forces are absolutely not allowed to exist. What it refers to is actually foreign military forces. That is to say, once the war in Europe begins, all foreign military forces within the Absolute Defense Circle we have drawn must get out. If they don't get out, we will forcibly drive them out. This has nothing to do with the Beiyang. We do not allow foreigners to enter China's Yangtze River. You must explain this clearly to the comrades after you go back."

"Okay." Gu Lu, who came from the Dabie Mountains, actually hadn't had much dealings with foreign devils. As for attacking churches, those were just numerous small battles. Dividing the temple property of foreign churches, and those who believed in foreign religions were all locked up in labor reform teams for forced labor. Gu Lu had only participated in this much regarding things related to foreign devils. However, Gu Lu was still very happy to be able to drive the foreign devils out of the Yangtze River.

He Zudao laughed, "Doesn't that equate to going to war with the British devils?"

Chen Ke indeed felt very helpless. "Our People's Party never accepts unequal treaties. We also support normal commercial activities. To achieve this goal, we must talk about methods. At present, we cannot be too hasty on some matters and need to wait for opportunities. However, the concept of the Absolute Defense Circle must be proposed. But I didn't expect it would trigger so many misunderstandings."

Gu Lu continued to ask, "Then where should the focus of our work in Henan be placed at present?"

"The focus of work is to mobilize the masses and establish a new system. As long as the masses can truly feel the advanced nature and superiority of the new system, when Yuan Shikai tries to attack Henan, the masses of the people will naturally stand with us. Henan has a population of nearly 40 million. Yuan Shikai can muster an army of two million at most, which is only 1/20 of Henan's population. He simply cannot fight his way into Henan. Wherever the enemy attacks, we will crush the enemy's attack there." After finishing speaking to Gu Lu, Chen Ke turned to Chen Tianhua again, "Huaihai Province is also the same. Seize the current peace and strive to win over the masses. Even if the Beiyang attacks, Huaihai Province also has a population of 20 million, and it is possible to deal with the Beiyang troops."

"Then where will our army expansion of 3 million be mainly used?" Chen Tianhua was very interested in this.

"Of the 3 million troops, the real field army will be at most 800,000. The other 2.2 million include local troops, that is, the armed police force. their main work is to maintain the security of transportation lines, industrial and mining enterprises, and cities. Engineering corps, railway corps, and reserve troops. After the first-line regular army suffers casualties and attrition, reserve troops are needed to replenish their personnel to ensure the full strength of the troops. In addition to these troops, militia organizations need to be built in every village. Calculating the whole thing, I'm afraid there will be more than 3 million troops."

"Are we going to engage in large-scale infrastructure construction?" Gu Lu felt very surprised. Henan was currently continuing railway and related infrastructure construction according to previous plans. But within the Henan Provincial Committee, there were opinions of worry.

"Without large-scale infrastructure construction, how can we guarantee that the masses know what the People's Party can actually do? Simple land reform cannot possibly increase production; this is a fact that has already been verified in many places. Without supporting infrastructure construction, grain production simply cannot be raised. Moreover, without large-scale infrastructure construction and comprehensive mobilization, the masses cannot be mobilized either. Without the support of the masses, everything is out of the question."

Chen Tianhua asked, "We always have to explain to the comrades. Just the previous explanation is not enough. Can you say something that can encourage the comrades more?"

"The peace of the southern base areas is protected in the north. As long as we can withstand the enemies in the north, there is no possibility of enemy invasion in the south. This is the characteristic of the base areas being one game of chess. The heavy responsibility of the War of Liberation will be decided in the north. So comrades must bravely shoulder the responsibility."