Pang Zi's original goal for working was very simple: he definitely wanted to get benefits from it. After doing things, he either wanted a promotion or to get rich. Even if the People's Party was very strict, his name had to be on the merit book at least. He believed that even if they hadn't conquered the world yet, there would always be a day for rewards based on merit. When that day came, just based on the densely packed merits in the book, Pang Zi would have to enjoy high position and generous pay.

In the cadre school, these cadres receiving education were first bluntly told that as People's Party members, this kind of thinking was no longer needed. The People's Party was not such an organization. With the liberation of all of China and the development of overall industrial strength, everyone's life would be greatly improved. However, for People's Party members, in the foreseeable thirty years, it would be more about contribution than taking. Legitimate income could definitely be guaranteed, but for those who wanted to engage in "power distribution" like in the feudal era and obtain economic benefits through the power distribution system, they could quit now.

Many comrades did have this kind of thinking psychologically before coming in for reform. More accurately, the ideological system established by the education they received was "sell your life to someone, then get a return."

After being bluntly criticized for this thought, the comrades were all stunned. Chairman Chen Ke and those high-ranking cadres worked so hard. In the eyes of these comrades, that was because of their noble character, and this noble character had already been rewarded—didn't those comrades already have high-level leadership positions? As lower-level cadres, couldn't they receive some degree of "compensation"? So there were comrades who quit, and the number was actually quite large. After a period of reform, more than 30% of the comrades undergoing reform submitted applications to quit.

However, quitting the People's Party was not an easy thing either. "Come clearly, go clearly!" This was the path of reform. Why do you want to leave? Which program and concept of the People's Party can't you accept? This had to be talked through clearly. Bluntly speaking, there were indeed comrades who came for high positions and generous pay, and for privileges.

But these guys with backbone were the minority after all. Most comrades started to equivocate. Talking about unreasonable systems, various difficulties in work. Anyway, they were not wrong; it was all external problems. The Party School was very straightforward: if you want to solve problems, solve them in labor practice. All comrades participating in reform participated in various related labor. This made many comrades complain endlessly. They were not rectified because they couldn't solve practical problems; everyone was opposed to continuing hard labor. The method of reform was constant labor—who could stand it?

The cadre school didn't just blindly torment people; they also constantly held classes. The classes described the concept of the state, what kind of future China the People's Party wanted to build, and why China had to be built this way. These comrades undergoing reform really had their eyes opened. Most comrades who dared to devote themselves to the revolution hoped to change the status quo of China. However, everyone's idea was a change of dynasty. In this earth-shaking revolution, they wanted to elevate themselves from the status of the exploited and ruled to the exploiters and rulers. They had no concept of what the future China would actually look like, nor did they particularly want to figure it out.

Working while receiving educational reform at the Party School broadened their horizons and linked theory with practice. The comrades finally became honest. Everyone gradually told the truth: in this revolution led by Chen Ke, as founding fathers of the revolution, what position should they be in? What could they actually get from this revolution?

The Party Constitution was taken out and explained carefully again, and the basic concepts of the Party were explained again. The future China would be a new system where laborers are the masters. The standard for judging a person in the new society is their labor ability, not bloodline and official position. In education, man's biological nature and social nature were also mentioned. In terms of biological nature, various selfish actions of humans are instincts, even including eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling—these behaviors are just projections of biological nature in human society. There is no good or evil in these behaviors. However, as a social person, from the perspective of "man is the sum of various social relations," as a People's Party member, his cognition can be imperfect or even have incorrect parts, but the core point cannot be wrong. That is, People's Party members must be part of social labor and be proletarians. They possess neither assets nor power. In actual labor, they might be officials or managers of various enterprises, receiving corresponding compensation according to their labor.

Fortunately, Chen Ke himself and the main cadres around him worked hard like saints, and most of these comrades had very direct dealings with Chen Ke. Since Chen Ke himself had already set an example, no one dared to directly say words criticizing this ideal. The focus of the debate concentrated on "whether official position and status are rewards or responsibilities."

Some comrades insisted that official position and status brought enjoyment. If Chairman Chen Ke didn't enjoy it, that was his personal problem. Official position and status themselves must bring enjoyment. Even if it didn't bring enjoyment to oneself, it must bring enjoyment and benefits to the family. This is inevitable, certain, and mandatory!

These words resonated with the vast majority of comrades undergoing reform. But people seek advantages and avoid disadvantages after all. Even if they agreed with this idea in their hearts, those who dared to persist in this concept and publicly state that they were in it for this were still the minority. More than 30% of the comrades undergoing reform had understood their mistakes by this time. They made a profound self-criticism of their behavior. However, they raised another question: since the revolution is not for the concept that being an official is for enjoyment, then what does the revolution mean? How exactly should it be done?

The discussion turned to "whether to participate in social labor as a social person" or "to occupy means of production and power as a projection of biological nature on social behavior." Such higher-level discussions unfolded.

Pang Zi was in the second wave to "graduate" from the cadre school. The comrades in the first wave of "graduates" had thoroughly understood what kind of new China Chen Ke led the People's Party to build during the learning and reform process, and sincerely expressed their willingness to accept this concept. The reason Pang Zi only graduated in the second wave was that he and a considerable number of comrades were already willing to sincerely accept the People's Party's concepts, but they had a deep-rooted idea: since they accepted this reform, were they already labeled as "bad people"? In China, if a person had been a "bad person," they would never be able to turn over a new leaf.

The cadre school conducted education targeting the "good person/bad person" concerns faced by comrades like Pang Zi. Social labor looks at the current work. Comrades all participated in factory labor. If the parts produced yesterday had problems, it didn't mean that after learning and summarizing, the parts today would definitely have problems. And if today's parts were fine, it didn't mean that problems wouldn't be encountered in tomorrow's production.

The key lies in whether the thinking is problematic. The so-called good person or bad person refers to this kind of thinking. Since the thinking has changed, what is there to be afraid of? History cannot be erased, but everyone lives in the present. History is the past that cannot be changed.

Pang Zi was not good at this extremely rational speculation, but he finally understood "what to do." That is to know what his current position needs to do, and what he can do. The organization of the People's Party talks about seeking truth from facts, talks about facts. If someone maliciously mentions the past in work, then the one who is wrong is definitely not Pang Zi.

After determining this matter, Pang Zi finally felt the dark clouds scatter. *Laozi* made mistakes, that's true. But *Laozi* making mistakes doesn't mean you can hold on to *Laozi*'s past mistakes and not let go. Let's just talk about current matters. Together with other comrades who understood this principle, he made a final thought report. After several talks with the organization, Pang Zi and a large number of comrades put down their burdens and returned to the ranks.

Becoming a division commander was naturally out of the question. Although Pang Zi felt regretful, he still accepted this fact. At the meeting where the troops rearranged Pang Zi's work, Pang Zi frankly stated that he would do his best even if he was a small soldier, but he still hoped to at least become a battalion-level commander. This was not only a problem of Pang Zi's own psychological endurance but also because his experience could play a greater effect at least in the battalion-level commander position.

The comrades in the army were extremely straightforward. Pang Zi's words caused a burst of good-natured and understanding laughter in the headquarters. Finally, Pang Zi was appointed as the acting brigade commander of the Cavalry Brigade of the 18th Army. Now he received the order to clear out the Beiyang grassroots in Nangong County.

If it were before, being able to lead thousands of troops back to his hometown, Pang Zi would definitely be smug. After the cadre school education, Pang Zi found that he had absolutely no such thoughts this time. Even when comrades mentioned at the combat meeting that Nangong County was Pang Zi's hometown, Pang Zi immediately and seriously told the comrades not to mention this issue unrelated to the battle. This was not Pang Zi putting on airs or pretending to be noble. He was very clear about his own affairs now. How could the little tail of seeking fame and profit be cut off so easily? It was good enough that he didn't take the initiative to think about returning home in glory. If others provoked him with words, if Pang Zi couldn't immediately eliminate such thoughts, his train of thought would immediately follow. On this point, Pang Zi extremely agreed with the straightforward and taboo-free content in the cadre school education. Chen Ke seemed to be free and unfettered because Chen Ke's perspective was the whole world. He should be the one with the broadest and most profound vision in the Party. It was not that Chen Ke himself had no desire for fame and fortune, but that what Chen Ke pursued had nothing to do with fame and fortune.

Even though it had been a while since "graduating" from the cadre school, Pang Zi could only try hard to avoid the influence of the desire for fame and profit on himself. If it were said to be completely insulated from fame and profit, Pang Zi knew deeply that he was far from being able to do that.

"Let's march in disguise this time. Currently, there are many Beiyang Army garrisons in Hebei, and the local people don't know the Beiyang Army's movements. Disguising as the Beiyang Army makes it easy to trick our way through various defenses." Pang Zi put forward his own view.

No one opposed Pang Zi. Comrades had participated in land reform, which was work implemented in liberated areas. How to effectively solve the enemy's grassroots organizations within the enemy's sphere of influence was also a new topic. Some comrades did mention that Pang Zi led horse bandits to sweep across Hebei back then, and asked what experience from that work could be used for reference.

Pang Zi felt that the ideological education at the cadre school really hit the point. As long as Pang Zi worked down-to-earth, neither trying to prove that he was a good person nor doing the opposite and trying to prove that he didn't care about the evaluation of being a good or bad person, but working completely based on facts, the comrades would treat Pang Zi as a brigade commander doing his job. Because Pang Zi's current job was the acting brigade commander of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army Cavalry Brigade. If the atmosphere of seeking truth from facts in the army could be maintained, and one did not try to seek fame and profit, then no one would mention Pang Zi's past at all. What relationship did mentioning Pang Zi's past have with the current work?

With a sense of relaxation and a trace of rejoicing, Pang Zi recounted his experiences back then in a very matter-of-fact way. Nangong County was a traffic hub with many traveling merchants coming and going. At that time, Pang Zi and the others used Linqing near Nangong County as a place for trading stolen goods, and they made a lot of money. At that time, everyone looted everywhere, firstly to let the bandits have some income, and secondly to boost their courage to complete the final grand looting of places like the Manchu Imperial Estates. Bandits scattered everywhere could also effectively disperse the enemy's targets and attention. Now, it was necessary to systematically arrest Beiyang grassroots personnel, which was not comparable to the past.

The military conference first determined the military plan to capture the two county towns in disguise. As for whether to enter various places in disguise to arrest Beiyang grassroots personnel, everyone had quite a divergence of opinion.

"Wearing Beiyang uniforms to arrest people is more effective. It can also make the locals think that the Beiyang Army is going to attack them, creating enough chaos." The supporters' reasons seemed quite sufficient.

The attitude of the opponents was also very firm. "We are now fighting the Beiyang openly and squarely. Tricking the Beiyang defenders is one thing. Arresting Beiyang grassroots personnel is another. We have to let these grassroots understand that Beiyang has absolutely no ability to protect their grassroots personnel. Only in this way can the ordinary people see our power and let the local forces understand that Beiyang has reached such a predicament. If there are no such clear arrests, the locals cannot make a real choice."

"But in this case, will there be resistance from local armed forces? There are many bandits in Hebei. Although most bandits have gone to eat soldier's rations now, the local armed forces are still strong. Based on the situation we already know, the escort agencies in Nangong County and other places also have two or three hundred people, and everyone has a gun. Fighting the Beiyang Army is easy, but clearing out local armed forces, especially clearing out these forces when we haven't grasped the local political power, the difficulties we encounter are very great."

Hearing the term "Nangong County Escort Agency," Pang Zi felt uncomfortable in his heart. For a moment, he couldn't even help suspecting if someone mentioned this matter to imply something. However, Pang Zi forced himself not to make such associations. After all, this was work. Everyone had only one goal, which was work. As a brigade commander, Pang Zi also had only one task, which was to complete the combat mission most effectively. Even if he wanted to prove himself, Pang Zi only had this one way.

It wasn't easy to wait for that uncomfortable feeling in his heart to pass, but Pang Zi felt relaxed instead. He finally made a decision. "For the enemy's armed forces, we should try our best to use camouflage to trick open the enemy's camp and solve them in the smallest way. This is fighting a war, not playing hero. However, for the arrest operation, we should carry it out as publicly as possible. This is to display our strength to the masses. What does everyone think?"

Everyone agreed with this suggestion, and Pang Zi's proposal was supported accordingly. Pang Zi's train of thought opened up at this time. He continued: "Actually, we might as well do this. We can be the People's Party ourselves and pretend to be the Beiyang Army. Get two battalions to specifically disguise themselves as the Beiyang Army, and then move around various places in the name of the People's Party operating in this area. Our main force can just follow this unit everywhere. What does everyone think?"

This idea was cunning enough and more operable. Comrades agreed extremely with this suggestion, and the commander of the Second Battalion immediately stood up and expressed his willingness to undertake this task.

Nangong County was now a war zone. Like other areas, a brigade of defense troops was stationed near the county town. The Magistrate of Nangong County was quite disgusted with this Beiyang Army. Since this unit arrived in Nangong County a few months ago, conflicts between the army and the people had not stopped. Soldiers secretly entering the brothels in the county town to play with women could still be understood. It was definitely not a big deal that local whoremongers couldn't find a place because the brothel business was booming. What annoyed the Magistrate was that when the Beiyang Army quartermasters purchased vegetables and meat, they often didn't give enough money. The vendors felt shortchanged and naturally refused to continue doing this business. The Magistrate also refused to intervene in such conflicts. Soldiers were bandits; it was like this throughout the Manchu Qing era. The Beiyang Army couldn't change either. But first, the quartermaster of the garrison came to find the Magistrate of Nangong County, demanding that they provide enough vegetables and meat. After the Magistrate shirked this matter, the brigade commander of the garrison directly sent people to demand the Magistrate solve this problem. The brigade commander's reason was that it was said that duck eggs in Nangong County were cheap and could be sold to Beijing and Tianjin. Now the price of duck eggs here was extremely expensive; it must be unscrupulous merchants deliberately raising prices.

Hearing this, the Magistrate was furious. Nangong County's duck eggs were indeed once cheap and sold widely. But that was when the big bandit leader Pang Zi was in Nangong County. Wasn't it the Beiyang Army that Pang Zi beat away? Not only did they beat Pang Zi away, but the Beiyang Army also looted Pang Zi's breeding farm completely and even burned the site to flat ground. Since then, the once-famous salted duck eggs of Nangong County had vanished. The Beiyang Army didn't mention what they had done but instead questioned the Magistrate. This practice made the Magistrate extremely annoyed.

However, military lords were not to be trifled with, especially during wartime. It wasn't easy to muddle through the matter. It took a good while for the Magistrate to calm down from those soldiers' extremely aggressive words.

The second day after sending this group of people away, the Magistrate heard that a large group of Beiyang Army cavalry had come from the south early in the morning, passing through Nangong County and heading straight for the Beiyang Army garrison. Fortunately, these people were very arrogant and ignored the county leaders who came to inquire politely. Saving trouble, the Magistrate didn't care either. The only thing that made him feel a little strange was that according to the county's security team, many people in this Beiyang Army team spoke with a Henan accent when marching and passing orders. The Magistrate knew that the Beiyang Army recruited many bandits when expanding the army, and the bandits joined in groups.

"This dignified Zhili has now become a place for bandits from all provinces to entrench themselves!" The Magistrate didn't say anything with his mouth, but he disapproved in his heart.

This Beiyang Army composed of "Henan bandits" had been gone for less than half a day when suddenly a yamen runner rushed into the county yamen in a hurry. "Lord, something bad has happened. The Beiyang Army camp is fighting."

"What's going on?" The Magistrate was also greatly shocked.

"I don't know. Anyway, gunshots are constant there. It must be a fight." The yamen runner answered, also at a loss.

The Magistrate had no solution either. He only had some security corps in his hands, numbering less than five hundred. No matter who dared to attack the Beiyang Army, they must have strong military strength. Those people dared to fight even the tens of thousands of Beiyang troops, let alone the five hundred people in Nangong County. Unknowingly, the Magistrate's forehead was already covered with sweat. "Go..., go and inquire again." The Magistrate gave a solution that was not a solution.

More than two hours later, the yamen runner rushed in again. This time the yamen runner was no longer in a hurry, but tripped at the door and rolled into the county yamen. "Lord! Lord! Something bad has happened! The People's Party is here! The leader is Pang Zi, the former King Pang!"

Hearing this sudden news, the Magistrate sat on the chair, tongue-tied, not knowing what to say at all.