"Lord Tao, I wonder what your views are on the war?" Xu Xilin was very uneasy about the war. Having experienced wind and rain over these years, Xu Xilin's knowledge far exceeded what it used to be. Regardless of who the victor of the war turned out to be, this victor would control China's future. deep down, Xu Xilin did not hope for the birth of such a victor. But his reason told him clearly and unmistakably that such a victor would be born after all.

Tao Chengzhang's expression was somewhat gloomy. "Mr. Cai's intention is to support Beiyang. I have also asked him many times; Mr. Cai's bottom line is that Zhejiang's autonomy must be guaranteed."

Qiu Jin's nature was more straightforward than the two men; she asked crisp and clear, "Lord Tao, do you think Beiyang can't beat Wenqing?"

Hearing such a direct question, Tao Chengzhang gave a bitter smile. "Jianhu, between Wenqing and Yuan Shikai, I naturally favor Wenqing more in my heart. Moreover, we have many yeoman farmers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. When Wenqing wrote his books himself, he wrote really well. During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom period, the population loss in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was extremely huge during the seesaw battles between the Xiang Army and the Taiping Army, so yeoman farmers rose up after the war. But after he started the revolution, he ignored this fact; wherever the People's Party goes, they must carry out land reform. Even if I wanted to say a few words for him, I couldn't say them."

Qiu Jin knew Tao Chengzhang's difficulty, but she didn't quite agree with Tao Chengzhang's statement. The Guangfu Society Western Zhejiang Branch implemented policies of curbing land annexation, rent and interest reduction, and government support for industry and agriculture. Because the specific execution almost completely copied the People's Party government, only blurring the issue of land ownership, although the first few years were arduous, the difficulties of the past two years were considered to be weathered, and the local area in Western Zhejiang was doing quite well.

The Guangfu Society Western Zhejiang Branch discovered in practice that even if a vague policy was adopted towards land ownership, if they wanted to get things done, they still had to forcibly implement suppression against landlords. Developing agriculture, breeding, and industry all required providing means of production to workers and peasants. If the government had no say over land, the most important means of production, everything would be empty talk. For example, the matter of planting mulberry trees was originally a good business that could benefit almost everyone. But seeing that planting mulberries was profitable, landlords began to want "commercial operation," which was traditional monopoly of mulberry leaf trading. They raised the price of mulberry leaves very high through monopoly and usury. The People's Party's purchase price dropped every year. Silkworm farmers worked hard just to earn some money for their labor; if the purchase price was too low, there was simply no benefit.

Out of helplessness, the Western Zhejiang Branch convened a general "Citizens' Assembly," gathering everyone who could be related to this matter, and explained the current situation clearly to everyone. Then the Guangfu Society proposed imitating the People's Party's method: building mulberry gardens, planning planting, and mass production. This proposal quickly received the support of the laboring masses. The laboring masses were numerous and powerful, plus with the armed forces of the Western Zhejiang Branch as backing, the landlords had to submit temporarily. They obtained the operating rights of a part of the mulberry gardens and the right to tax exemption. regarding mulberry leaf prices, they followed the government-designated price method. After straightening out the production channels, the scale of silkworm cocoons doubled successively, and trading profits increased rapidly. Moreover, accompanying the establishment of the Western Zhejiang compulsory education system, agricultural schools were established accordingly, and the level of the sericulture industry was also greatly improved.

This was just one of the examples—tea gardens, chestnut production. As long as the government could forcibly come forward to mobilize the masses and straighten out production relations, relying on the People's Party's huge sales system, Western Zhejiang's commodities always had a market. Aiming at the livelihood issues of farmers, Western Zhejiang also established a supply and marketing cooperative system. The metal farm tools and some machinery and equipment imported from the People's Party were higher in price than in the People's Party base areas, but much cheaper than similar commodities imported from other regions. Production efficiency improved, prices of means of production decreased, plus the government suppressed land annexation and forcibly brought land out to invest in socialized production—there were no common people in the entire Western Zhejiang who didn't support the Guangfu Society Western Zhejiang Branch.

However, Qiu Jin would not blame Tao Chengzhang because of these achievements. She knew that the Western Zhejiang Branch was already an anomaly within the Guangfu Society General Headquarters. Tao Chengzhang was the minority faction within the General Headquarters who strove to defend Western Zhejiang.

"Lord Tao, is Mr. Cai determined to support Beiyang in this meeting?" Xu Xilin asked.

Tao Chengzhang gave a slight bitter smile. "Mr. Cai didn't say it like that; he still uses that old rhetoric, that things must be talked through clearly. However, Mr. Cai has made up his mind this time: you Western Zhejiang must pay taxes."

Hearing this, Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin only felt their heartbeats speed up a lot, and their faces also turned ugly. One of the important reasons, perhaps even the most important reason, why Western Zhejiang had been able to develop over these years lay in the fact that Western Zhejiang did not pay taxes. Not only did they not pay taxes to the Zhejiang government, but because the commercial channels were all cooperative with the People's Party, Western Zhejiang was fundamentally not constrained by other commercial groups, let alone paying any road tolls and *likin* tax. Every single coin earned by the Guangfu Society Western Zhejiang Branch could be used on Western Zhejiang's construction, and it looked like they were doing quite well. Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin knew that the various taxes in Zhejiang apportioned to the common people added up to nearly half of the common people's income. If half of the Western Zhejiang common people's money was used for tax payment, their lives were destined to be unspeakably bitter.

"This..." Xu Xilin looked at Qiu Jin, very troubled.

Tao Chengzhang persuaded, "Bosun, right now our Guangfu Society controls the assembly. When the Zhejiang Military Governor is elected next time, nine out of ten it will be someone from our Guangfu Society who assumes the post. Right now taxes from all other places have been paid; you always have to pay the taxes you owe."

Xu Xilin said solemnly, "Lord Tao, when we formulated the Guangfu Society constitution back then, tax exemption was one of the guiding principles. Moreover, more than half of Zhejiang's taxes these years have fed the Beiyang Army. We feel it's unjust to pay this money."

"So a meeting is needed!" Tao Chengzhang said helplessly. "I see Mr. Cai's meaning is that he is very interested in that Citizen Party started by Wang Youhong in Jiangsu. But everyone knows that the citizenship system Wang Youhong started is linked to tax payment. I actually support the idea of gentry autonomy. So the two of you will still have to speak up more at this meeting."

At the mention of Jiangsu Military Governor Wang Youhong, Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin's faces looked even worse. After the rise of the People's Party, the one who truly started institutional construction in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang area was actually Jiangsu. Having Northern Jiangsu forcibly seized, and Southern Jiangsu completely surrounded by the People's Party, it stimulated the sense of crisis in Wang Youhong and the Jiangsu gentry instead.

Using the crisis in the sericulture industry as a juncture, Wang Youhong established the citizenship system in Jiangsu. Property owners had the opportunity to become citizens, but it didn't equal that property owners could definitely become citizens. To become a citizen, besides having a certain amount of property, one also needed to make a property declaration and pay taxes and perform military service according to the declared property. In the entire Jiangsu at present, only about 20% of the people had obtained citizenship. Even so, Wang Youhong still relied on this group of citizens to expel other forces from the assembly and government in several elections, and initially established and improved Jiangsu's systems at all levels. Most importantly, Jiangsu established a conscription-based army composed of citizens. The formal troops plus reserves added up to over a hundred thousand strong. If not for the People's Party, the Jiangsu governed by Wang Youhong would be the largest force in Jiangnan, even stronger than Zhejiang.

Xu Xilin understood that whether mentioning Wang Youhong's citizenship system or mentioning collecting taxes from Western Zhejiang, Cai Yuanpei was attempting to grasp Zhejiang's economy and political power more forcefully. This meeting would not be anything good.

"Lord Tao, please allow us to prepare first," Xu Xilin said.

Tao Chengzhang looked at Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin with a very understanding expression. "You two don't need to rush either."

Western Zhejiang learning from the People's Party was not a simple joke. Besides the attitude towards the land issue and the ability to build industry, Western Zhejiang's system was exactly the same as the People's Party. The Guangfu Society, as the ruling party, comprehensively led government work. And Guangfu Society cadres, as political commissars, led the Guangfu Army under their command. They also implemented "The Branch is Built on the Company," the troops had Soldiers' Committees, and even the "Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention" were important military orders and discipline for the Western Zhejiang Guangfu Army.

The Western Zhejiang Branch now administered the three counties of Deqing, Changxing, and Anji. If Xu Xilin was willing, he could very well move the Western Zhejiang Branch to Huzhou. It was just that at the time, facing the pressure of Duan Qirui's Beiyang Third Division, the Western Zhejiang Branch dared not be so arrogant. Later, Cai Yuanpei became the Speaker of the Zhejiang Assembly, and Xu Xilin didn't want to be too close to the Guangfu Society General Headquarters. So he still chose Changxing, which was backed by the People's Party base area, as the headquarters of the Western Zhejiang Branch. The Guangfu Society Western Zhejiang Branch called the controlled Huzhou the "Huzhou District," corresponding to the People's Party's Liberated Areas. Qiu Jin was the District Mayor of Huzhou District, and Xu Xilin was the Party Secretary of the Huzhou District Committee.

At the Guangfu Society Committee Plenary Meeting of the Western Zhejiang Branch, listening to Xu Xilin narrate the current situation and the possible content of this Guangfu Society General Headquarters meeting, Ji Ye, the Political Commissar of the Anji Military Sub-district and Secretary of the Anji County Party Committee, spoke up, "Secretary Xu, Mayor Qiu, I do not agree with the idea of the Guangfu Society joining the Beiyang side. Our policies and organization are close to the People's Party. Let alone Beiyang, even the divergence between the Guangfu Society General Headquarters and us is greater than with the People's Party. Where is the logic in abandoning what is close to seek what is far?"

The Western Zhejiang Branch was a troop composed of the wounded who were forced to be left on the battlefield after the Guangfu Society's attack on Nanjing was frustrated in 1909, as well as Guangfu Society members who volunteered to bring up the rear. This group of warriors fought together with the People's Party medical team and the guard protecting the medical team, repelling the attack of Wang Youhong's tens of thousands of troops, and then retreated calmly to the People's Party Anhui Base Area for rest and reorganization. After rest and reorganization, this group of Guangfu Society members did not return to Southern Zhejiang controlled by the Guangfu Society at that time, but entered Western Zhejiang backed by the People's Party to start the revolution.

In terms of life-and-death experiences and combat proficiency, they could deservedly claim to be number one within the Guangfu Society. Moreover, the nearly one thousand core personnel of this troop had all received training from the People's Party multiple times. Leaving aside what attitude Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin as leaders had towards the Guangfu Society General Headquarters, the backbone force of the Western Zhejiang Branch all inclined towards the People's Party.

After Cai Yuanpei took over the Guangfu Society from Tao Chengzhang's hands, he implemented a compromise policy towards Beiyang. The Western Zhejiang Branch relied entirely on the People's Party's support to gain a foothold in Western Zhejiang. These comrades knew very well in their hearts that Beiyang completely treated the Western Zhejiang Branch as the People's Party. Since that was the case, a considerable portion of the backbone of the Western Zhejiang Branch, at least Ji Ye, believed that the Western Zhejiang Branch had absolutely no reason to stand on Beiyang's side.

With Ji Ye taking the lead to state her position, other Guangfu Society comrades also began to speak, "That's right, even if we don't help the People's Party, there's no reason to help Beiyang."

"Our Western Zhejiang also has no reason to pay taxes to a Beiyang Military Governor. Mr. Cai took quite a few people from us, especially taking away quite a few doctors. Right now, even with money, there's nowhere to find a doctor."

"For the past year, various forces outside our Western Zhejiang Branch have been constantly in conflict with us. Let's not talk about the Headquarters doing things unfairly themselves. When we had conflicts with others, when did they ever back us up?"

Listening to the comrades opposing with seven mouths and eight tongues, Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin also felt very helpless. They didn't dare let Tao Chengzhang participate in the meeting, not because they were afraid Tao Chengzhang would leak secrets, but because they were afraid Tao Chengzhang would be embarrassed. If the Guangfu Society General Headquarters considered the Western Zhejiang Branch an anomaly, the comrades of the Western Zhejiang Branch likewise considered many policies of the Guangfu Society General Headquarters, especially the core policies, "baffling." On the point of opposing positions, the two sides were no different.

Xu Xilin dared not ask the comrades to vote at this time either. If the method of party democracy was used to implement voting, the result would definitely be the Western Zhejiang Branch rejecting all requests of the Guangfu Society General Headquarters, and might even conversely demand the Guangfu Society General Headquarters break with Beiyang. Judging from the situation the Western Zhejiang Branch understood, at such times Chen Ke could always gain support by persuading comrades. Xu Xilin knew he definitely couldn't do this; in a fierce and equal debate, it would be good enough if he wasn't persuaded by the comrades.

Qiu Jin hurriedly took over the conversation, "Everyone, don't be anxious first. Since it's a meeting, we can talk."

As a representative figure of the pro-People's Party faction in the Guangfu Society, Ji Ye said loudly, "Mayor Qiu, I feel there isn't much to talk about regarding this matter. If Mr. Cai insists on supporting Beiyang, we have no need to stay in the Guangfu Society. Beiyang is obviously not the People's Party's opponent; if we have to choose sides, we must also choose the side of the victor."

With Ji Ye leading, waves of support for the People's Party continued to rise within the Western Zhejiang Branch.

What Xu Xilin least wanted to see was the split of the Guangfu Society. As a veteran of the Guangfu Society, he had gone through life and death for the revolutionary cause of the Guangfu Society. If the Guangfu Society split because he failed to do his best to stop it, Xu Xilin could not accept it no matter what. But Xu Xilin surprisingly found that he couldn't find an ally for a moment. Industry, agriculture, military, mass health, education—the committee gathered all the backbones of the Western Zhejiang Branch. Almost everyone participating in the meeting expressed non-support for Beiyang, and even non-support for the policies of the Guangfu Society General Headquarters. The commercial department originally wanted to say something different from everyone, but after frowning and thinking for a while, he chose to remain silent. Finally, someone managed to say a sentence, but it was the person in charge of the literature and art department, "Harmony is precious. I think at least we shouldn't make things so stiff with the General Headquarters."

"Speaking from *On Contradiction*, you can't clap with one hand..." Ji Ye retorted unceremoniously.

"Alright, alright!" Xu Xilin hurriedly cut off Ji Ye's words. If Ji Ye continued to speak like this, the whole situation would develop towards a fiercer quarrel. Xu Xilin felt that the biggest gap between himself and Chen Ke lay in leadership ability. No matter what, Chen Ke could hold the fort, but with the development of the Western Zhejiang Branch, many times everyone avoided quarreling purely because they were giving Xu Xilin face. In actual action, it was simply impossible for Xu Xilin to make comrades go against their true intentions to execute Xu Xilin's opinions.

"Then I don't hold any ideas for this meeting either. I'll just go to the General Headquarters to fight a war of words and quarrel like before. After quarreling, I'll come back," Xu Xilin said helplessly.

The comrades of the Western Zhejiang Branch also felt quite helpless. Anyway, every time the General Headquarters held a meeting, it was this result: accusations plus quarreling. What maintained the General Headquarters and the Western Zhejiang Branch was only the so-called incense burner sentiment (old ties). But continuing like this was not a solution. As time passed, the divergence between the General Headquarters and the Western Zhejiang Branch increased day by day, and the attitude of the Guangfu Society General Headquarters became clearer and clearer: firmly supporting Beiyang, firmly opposing the People's Party. On this point, the contradiction had no possibility of coordination. Even if Xu Xilin could muddle through like before this time, what about next time? What about the time after next? After the war starts, how should the Western Zhejiang Branch choose?

Ji Ye said, "Secretary Xu, we can't avoid this matter. Let's just come up with a charter ourselves first. Just dragging it out like this isn't a solution either."

Xu Xilin was just afraid of holding this meeting; how could he not be clear about the Western Zhejiang Branch's thoughts? Once war broke out, although the Western Zhejiang Branch was unwilling to join the People's Party, they were very willing to fight side by side with the People's Party. Cai Yuanpei's attitude was also very clear. If discussed, it would only leave the question of whether there would be a civil war within the Guangfu Society. Xu Xilin would rather die than see comrades within the Guangfu Society turning weapons against each other.

"Wait until I come back to talk about everything!" Xu Xilin made the final decision to muddy the waters.

Having determined the comrades' thoughts, Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin embarked on the journey to Hangzhou with Tao Chengzhang. On the way, Xu Xilin began to persuade Tao Chengzhang, "Lord Tao, you said the next Zhejiang Military Governor will be someone from our Guangfu Society. I wonder if Lord Tao has the intention to run?"

Tao Chengzhang gave a bitter laugh. "Bosun, I know you oppose joining this war. This time I also want to be this Zhejiang Military Governor to preserve Zhejiang. But Mr. Cai is dead set on joining the war. I came to find you this time, brother, just wanting Bosun to support me. If I can become this Zhejiang Military Governor, I will certainly try my best to let Zhejiang avoid the flames of war."

"But how should the Beiyang Third Army be handled? Aren't they recruiting soldiers and buying horses in Zhejiang just to fight this war? In the news I heard, the Beiyang Third Army is to be expanded to a force of four divisions, one hundred thousand men. If Lord Tao wants to avoid war, the Third Army will certainly not agree."

"Your Western Zhejiang also has over ten thousand men, and Southern Zhejiang currently also has over ten thousand men. The Beiyang Third Army is currently only forty thousand. Within these forty thousand, nearly half are Zhejiang people. As long as we join hands, we can subdue the Third Army somehow. At that time, Zhejiang will have fifty or sixty thousand troops; self-preservation is always possible." Tao Chengzhang told Xu Xilin his plan.

"Then the key is Mr. Cai?" Xu Xilin asked.

"The key is Mr. Cai!" Tao Chengzhang answered heavily.