Xie Mingxian's secretary never understood why Xie Mingxian let that group of clan members in his hometown off so easily. However, along the way, Xie Mingxian was either contemplating, writing, or talking to his younger brother Xie Minggu. Only after returning to Changsha did the secretary bring up this matter again during Xie Mingxian's free time. "Secretary Xie, why did you give up the struggle? What's so great about those old guys? We didn't even need to send troops; the comrades in the village could have dealt with them."

"Do you think those people did something wrong?" Xie Mingxian asked.

"Yes!" The secretary answered with righteous indignation.

Xie Mingxian remained silent for a moment before asking again: "Even if they did wrong, this is at most a conflict of quarreling. If we send people to take action, the conflict immediately escalates to the level of fighting. Why should we intensify this conflict?"

The secretary could see that Xie Mingxian was against his idea, but anyway, the secretary was also a party member. In terms of discussion on party work, he and Xie Mingxian were equal. So after hesitating slightly, the secretary said frankly: "This... they promote feudal clans. To put it seriously, they are all counter-revolutionaries."

Xie Mingxian laughed: "You don't need to look back too far. Twelve years ago, basically everyone in our liberated areas was a counter-revolutionary, and even I was a counter-revolutionary. I didn't like clans back then because they bullied me. If the clan worshipped me as a god and whatever I said counted, I would still think the clan was the best organization."

Hearing Xie Mingxian say this, the secretary fell silent. Xie Mingxian continued: "To eliminate clans, first you have to understand what exactly a clan is and where the so-called power of clan forces comes from. The core power of a clan is the jurisdiction over clan members linked by blood ties, ranging from suppressing public opinion to controlling the lives of clan members. Therefore, a clan is an interest group. We say liberation, liberation; we mean to liberate the people from the old social organizations."

The secretary lowered his head slightly. He was also a smart young man. Hearing Xie Mingxian say this and comparing it with the actual situation, the secretary understood that Xie Mingxian's return to his hometown this time did not show weakness, but he really struggled with those clan members and won a tangible victory. It was just that compared with the glorious victories achieved by the People's Party in politics and military affairs, this kind of victory seemed insignificant and even gave people an extremely stifling feeling.

Xie Mingxian didn't want to criticize the secretary. After returning from his hometown this time, Xie Mingxian felt that his view of problems was far less "sharp" than before, but this didn't mean that Xie Mingxian had lost his enterprising spirit. On the contrary, the desire to completely crush clans had never been as firm as today.

A smile couldn't help appearing on his face. Xie Mingxian said in a gentle tone: "I didn't understand my father before, but now I understand a little. Although he hasn't studied the theories of our People's Party, I have to say he is a person who seeks truth from facts. Because he really realized that this world is forever in contradiction and struggle, and you have to struggle to do anything."

The secretary supported these words very much, "So we must create a bright and clear world!"

Xie Mingxian shook his head slightly, "No, the vast majority of people think that a bright and clear world is a world without struggle, without oppression, and without inequality. If a person thinks that revolution is to create such a world, it can only be said that this person is not a revolutionary. This world exists in struggle; this world exists in various collisions. Without struggle, there would be no world. Contradiction and struggle are the truth of this world."

Such education was also a basic concept in the People's Party, but even party members might not genuinely accept such views. At least Xie Mingxian's secretary found this infinite struggle not so acceptable. "Secretary Xie, I still think everyone should live in harmony, and society should be orderly. At least those people shouldn't bully others."

Xie Mingxian laughed: "The purpose of struggle is to establish order. Don't those people in the countryside want to establish the order they advocate? They don't want to create a lawless world. From the perspective of our People's Party, what they do is lawless, but from the perspective of those people, our People's Party is the one that is lawless."

The secretary immediately became excited and said loudly: "Right! So we must fight against these reactionary feudal clans!"

"Then we send troops, and recruit manpower from the county and village, beat these people until their heads bleed, and then order them to kneel all the way from the village entrance to the graveyard in a line. When we carry the coffin past them, they bow three times and kowtow nine times in turn, shouting long live. If we do this, what is the difference between our People's Party and them? Hahahaha!" Although Xie Mingxian adhered to the party's philosophy and party spirit, when describing such a scene, he still laughed quite happily.

Hearing the scene described by Xie Mingxian was so relieving, the secretary couldn't help laughing out loud too. He said while laughing: "If we really do this, it's not like we can't do it."

Xie Mingxian wanted to continue saying something, but he suddenly laughed even harder. Amidst laughter, Xie Mingxian barely managed to even his breath and said to the secretary: "We can also tie up that Granduncle, tie a rope around his neck, and tie the other end of the rope to the head of my mother's coffin. ...Also... also tie... tie two mourning sticks to his head..." Having said this, Xie Mingxian couldn't continue anymore. He laughed so hard he almost slipped from the chair to the floor.

Hearing Xie Mingxian's words, a picture instantly appeared in the secretary's mind. That old guy's head bleeding, ropes tying him tightly like a twisted dough twist, white cloth strips firmly tying two slender mourning sticks covered with white paper strips to both sides of his head, as if erecting two slender cricket-like tentacles, combined with the old man's white beard and the mouth missing several teeth... The secretary immediately laughed loudly too. While laughing, he stammered: "Best... best tie up your... classmate like this too."

This return to his hometown made the secretary angry enough. Xie Mingxian naturally wouldn't be full of joy either. Hearing the secretary mention treating that annoying classmate like this too, Xie Mingxian turned from laughing loudly to laughing wildly.

With images of revenge filling their minds, the two laughed back and forth. Hearing this loud laughter, the guard couldn't help poking his head in from outside the door, looking suspiciously at Xie Mingxian and the other going crazy. But seeing no clues, he could only resume his guard state.

After venting the anger in their hearts greatly through full imagination, Xie Mingxian and the secretary managed to calm down with difficulty. Because of laughing too hard, Xie Mingxian coughed for a good while. The secretary went up and thumped Xie Mingxian's back hard a few times before Xie Mingxian said breathlessly: "The enemy of our People's Party is not the working people. On the way back this time, I kept thinking that actually everyone just wants to live richer and happier. What's wrong with thinking this way?"

"But you can't bully people either." Although the secretary had dispersed a lot of resentment, he still couldn't accept Xie Mingxian's tolerance.

"You can't get rich without killing the poor. If bullying people can make oneself rich, then I can say that for the vast majority of people, there is only the question of whether they can do it, not whether they want to do it." Xie Mingxian's expression returned to calm. When elaborating on this issue, there was not even a trace of expression on his face.

The People's Party had always regarded the people extremely heavily. The secretary never expected Xie Mingxian to view the people as so "terrible." However, Xie Mingxian didn't care about this politically "incorrect" speech at all. He said frankly: "We always say that the Chinese people are great people because the Chinese people are most full of fighting spirit. The history of civilization for thousands of years is a history of struggle accumulated with blood and tears. The Chinese people know very well that if you bully others now, others will definitely retaliate when they have the chance. It is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge in ten years; a villain takes revenge from morning to night. Everyone is unwilling to do things to the extreme, hoping to reduce all unnecessary troubles so as to focus energy on struggling with the natural environment and on production. This is why the Chinese people are so great."

The secretary fell silent. After venting just now, the resentment in his heart decreased greatly. Plus, what Xie Mingxian said was indeed reasonable. Unless the people in the village were beaten to death, it would be fine when the troops were in the village, but after the troops withdrew, the situation would not only not take on a new look but would only become worse.

Xie Mingxian continued: "So what we have to do now is to unite the working masses and develop productive forces, at least to free conflicts from that low level of struggling for survival. When income is high, the masses will naturally follow us. After we deprive the clan of all judicial and administrative powers, won't they at most just block the door and shout a few times like now? A few words will send them away."

"Then at least it will be quieter," the secretary replied.

Xie Mingxian shook his head slightly, "No, under the new system led by us and the new production methods led by us, products will be greatly enriched, and new contradictions will appear accordingly, probably much more intense than now. But at that time, the dominance will be in our hands. Even without waiting for that time, just in this process, all old things have to go into the garbage heap. Isn't it happier for us to completely eradicate these things than simply showing off our power?"

The secretary wanted very much to nod in agreement, but he couldn't nod no matter what. Eradicating the old system meant facing ethereal thoughts. What if it was really eradicated? It would just make those who had done bad things before live better. But striking the enemy opposite swiftly and powerfully could give real huge pleasure after victory. Comparing the two... obviously, the latter was much more attractive. The secretary asked: "Then can we eradicate the old system after striking the bad elements?"

Xie Mingxian still shook his head, "Revolution revolutionizes the mandate of heaven; what is to be destroyed is the original social system. If it's just that originally they bullied us, and now we bully others, that is changing the dealer, not revolution. The central government has repeatedly ordered about this matter. If we bully others first and then establish a new system, what will the masses think? The masses will think that we just want to institutionalize our existing interests. The eyes of the masses are sharp. Why didn't my few cousins dare to carry the coffin at first? Wasn't it because they were afraid that after we used force on the masses, we would leave, and how would they live their days in the village? Why did they join our ranks later? Wasn't it because they felt our method was feasible, so they wanted to help us get out of the main gate?"

Mentioning the performance of Xie Mingxian's few cousins, the secretary could only contemptuously define them as "opportunists" in his heart. But it must be said that without the help of those few opportunists, it would not have been easy to get out of the gate. But even though he was still extremely unhappy in his heart, the secretary was convinced by Xie Mingxian. He asked: "Secretary Xie, then what do you plan to do next?"

"I plan to go down to the localities. Listen to the requests of comrades, see the problems encountered in specific execution, so as to formulate the work arrangement for the entire province. If I was treated like this when I went down this time, I'm afraid the comrades' work is even more difficult." Pausing for a moment, Xie Mingxian continued: "I also have to learn from comrades and communicate with comrades. I really have to be a student first, then a teacher."

The secretary was very puzzled by Xie Mingxian's last strange exclamation, but this was also one of the commonly used phrases in the political education of the People's Party, so he didn't ask further. Xie Mingxian had his own plan, and the secretary's job was to arrange Xie Mingxian's work; there were many things to do later.

This happened in Hubei, and Lu Huitian ordered the mobilization of a company of troops, which was not a small matter. Although Lu Huitian definitely had to bear all responsibilities, if something happened, it couldn't be settled by simply punishing Lu Huitian. The report of the whole incident was quickly summarized and even alarmed Chen Ke, the Chairman of the Military Commission. After reading the report, no matter what he thought in his heart, Chen Ke made no comment on this.

The representative of Soviet Russia was in Wuhan at this time. Even if the People's Party did not strategically treat Soviet Russia as a big deal, Chen Ke's order to mobilize railway corps to strengthen the construction of transportation lines to the Northeast and also strengthen the extension of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway to Suiyuan had proven that the new military action of the People's Party had begun. The civil war, which had been silent for more than a year, was reignited. And this new direction couldn't help but make the high-level officials speculate. How exactly did Chen Ke plan to treat the new Soviet Russian regime?

The Soviet representative was a young comrade named Belkov, twenty-six years old. Assuming heavy responsibilities at twenty-six was not uncommon in the People's Party, and was even a norm. The initial party members of the People's Party had less than thirteen years of party standing if calculated by anniversary. Thirteen years ago, Comrade Belkov was already in junior high school. According to his upper-middle-class background in Moscow, Russia, he was probably already able to play a few tunes on the violin at that time.

Even if Chen Ke had no time at all, he had to make time to meet this official envoy. There were not many people in the country who understood Russian, so a comrade with a Northeast accent acted as a translator. Simple handshake, taking seats, Chen Ke asked straightforwardly: "Comrade Belkov, what mission does the Bolshevik Central Committee entrust you with?"