Political Commissar He Zudao could not help but pay attention to the development of communist and socialist theories, nor could he ignore the application of theories at the practical level. However, obscure and "counter-common sense" theories were never the main point of concern for most people. Although the complexity of the theory gave him a headache, the institutional construction required for connecting theory with practice made He Zudao realize even more that his ability was really insufficient to construct such a system. However, since everyone lives in the material world, all actions must accept the laws of the material world.

Entering Sichuan required coordination between water and land. Three days after talking with He Zudao, the Political Commissar of the Yangtze River Fleet came to see He Zudao again very seriously. He frankly admitted that he could not formulate a "correct plan" at all. After reflection, the Political Commissar realized that letting the vanguard force undertake tasks beyond its strength was the biggest mistake. So after carefully analyzing his mistakes, the Political Commissar requested He Zudao not to use his own case as an example.

No one wants to make a fool of themselves in front of everyone. He Zudao could understand the Political Commissar's thoughts very well. In the Military Commission's military plan to enter Sichuan, the expanded Yangtze River Fleet undertook the important task of transporting troops and materials. Putting pressure on the Yangtze River Fleet Political Commissar that he couldn't bear was not a good idea either. However, He Zudao still rejected the Political Commissar's request. There might not be enough such examples now, but it would be a very typical case in the future.

He Zudao said: "I will try my best to extract the core contradictions of this matter, so you don't have to worry too much. I will absolutely not mention any names and try to downplay specific facts that are easy to associate. But this case is very typical."

The Political Commissar looked helpless. He Zudao felt sympathetic in his heart, but there was nothing he could do. Reality is just like this: "When three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher. I select their good qualities and follow them, and their bad qualities and change them." This has been said for thousands of years, but most people who have read this sentence use the method of mocking others to gain their own satisfaction, creating a false imagination that "I am capable, I am better than others." This is also one of the many practical guidelines of the "Human Ethology Research Center." Although these guidelines really faced the dark side of the human heart directly, they were quite scientific, or at least feelings summarized from much experience. He Zudao could accept this fact, but he didn't like this fact.

However, regardless of personal thoughts, the military action of the People's Party to enter Sichuan did not pause at all. Historically, as long as a few natural barriers could be broken through and troops could be transported to a few key points, the collapse of local regimes in Sichuan was basically very rapid. The People's Party did not focus on land routes this time. The action of blowing up the Yanyu Pile frightened various forces in the Fengjie area, and they surrendered immediately after contacting the spearhead of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. After blowing up the Yanyu Pile, the water forces of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could completely go up the river. After thousands of marine troops landed, Chongqing also surrendered almost without a fight.

The remaining important area was Chengdu. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army dispatched a large number of small boats of about 300 tons to transport troops across the water area from Yibin to Leshan, and then advanced by water and land, taking Chengdu easily. With the preparatory work of the vanguard fleet, it took less than a month to seize several major strategic points along the Yangtze River in Sichuan.

Liberating the mountainous areas was not a simple job and could be done slowly. Starting from June 1st, the People's Party, mainly with the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, hired a large number of local people in Chengdu to carry out emergency repair work on Dujiangyan, which had not been maintained for a long time.

For thousands of years, Sichuan had used bamboo cages made of bamboo strips filled with a large number of stones to repair Dujiangyan. The weir body of the ancient bamboo cage structure was not stable under the impact of the rapid current of the Min River, and although the Inner River channel had a sand discharge mechanism, silting could still not be avoided. Therefore, Dujiangyan needed to be renovated regularly to make it operate effectively. In the Song Dynasty, a system of annual repair by cutting off the flow during the low water period in winter and spring and during the slack farming season was established, called "Chuantao" (Dredging). During annual repairs, the weir body was repaired, and the river channel was deepened. The depth of dredging the shoal was based on digging to the stone horses buried at the bottom of the shoal, and the height of the weir body was based on being flush with the water gauge on the rock wall on the opposite bank.

The People's Party actually wanted to maintain Dujiangyan in June when the flood season was approaching. The local people in Chengdu thought the People's Party was a bit too reckless. However, the mechanical equipment brought by the steel ships spewing thick smoke from their chimneys opened the eyes of the local people in Chengdu. Steel plates, steel bars, cement, iron wires, bamboo strips processed from bamboo purchased locally, as well as generators, steam engines, and winches. The hired masses only did some auxiliary work, while the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army undertook the most arduous and dangerous work. And most of the workload in these jobs was completed by those roaring machines.

By June 15th, the emergency repair work of Dujiangyan was completed. The newly established Sichuan Provincial Government of the Republic presided over the ceremony of opening the sluice to release water. The winch slowly pulled up the sluice riveted with steel plates, and the water of the Min River rolled in, continuing to irrigate the ten thousand mu of fertile fields on the Chengdu Plain.

On July 1st, the Anlan Bridge was reinforced with steel columns and steel bars, and the expensive bridge toll was cancelled. At the same time, utilizing the geographical conditions of Feishayan on Dujiangyan, a simple cable bridge was built using materials such as steel columns and iron chains, also without charging any bridge toll. This immediately made the masses near Chengdu praise the "new government."

There was no need to formulate a strategy specifically; Chinese history had long recorded the expansion strategy for the next step after controlling Ba Shu. That is Hanzhong. There is an idiom called "coveting Shu after getting Long," which was what Cao Cao said after crusading against Zhang Lu and feeling strategically unable to complete the attack on Ba Shu. However, not long after, Liu Bei sent troops from Ba Shu to seize Hanzhong. After seizing Hanzhong, one could send troops from Hanzhong to march into "Guanzhong," that is, Shaanxi.

At this time, the People's Party already possessed Henan and controlled Shan County. Duan Qirui, who fled into Shanxi, not only controlled Shanxi but also controlled Shaanxi, Ningxia, and other places to a certain extent. For this last enemy, the Military Commission could now give directions just by drawing a map.

"Attacking Shanxi doesn't even need to go through the Eight Passes of Taihang; fighting all the way from Inner Mongolia is also a way."

"Attacking Shaanxi can go from Shan County to Tongguan, while another route goes through Hanzhong. Attacking from both sides, Duan Qirui will find it difficult to attend to both ends, which is a situation of catching a turtle in a jar."

"This is not just two routes, but at least five routes. Inner Mongolia, Hebei, and Hanzhong are three routes, and Henan divides troops into two routes to enter Shanxi and Shaanxi."

If Duan Qirui heard the discussion of the Central Revolutionary Committee of the People's Party, his nose would probably be crooked with anger. The main point of discussion was actually marching rather than fighting. The comrades of the Military Commission indeed considered it this way. If they could ensure the march, wherever the remnants of Beiyang intercepted and attacked, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army would defeat them there. This was the natural consideration of the comrades.

Chen Ke didn't care too much about how to eliminate Duan Qirui. The problem he considered was further away, "Tibet, Xinjiang, Outer Mongolia. These regions are the most difficult challenges we face. The roads in these regions are rugged, supplies are difficult, and it involves the issue of recovering national territory."

It is very easy to expand territory on a map. If sitting in a comfortable conference room drinking tea and chatting, map expansion is even a great pleasure. But the troops on the front line are completely different. Tibet's plateau climate, harsh supply conditions; to go to Xinjiang, one has to pass through the Gobi Desert outside Lanzhou. As for Outer Mongolia, it was originally a place where the Golden Family of Inner Mongolia exiled criminals. If the climate were really pleasant and the water and grass lush, that place would not have been used as a place of exile no matter what. As for Nerchinsk and other places further north of the Outer Khingan Mountains, the climate is even worse than in the Northeast. What the soldiers of the troops have to face is by no means a relaxed and glorious march.

Chen Ke briefly explained these situations to the comrades. The faces of the comrades, who were inexplicably excited about recovering the main regions of China, also became calm. The frontier is the frontier because the environment in those places is indeed too harsh compared to the Central Plains.

The People's Party built railways extensively, dredged shipping, and built ships, passing through the Shu roads that were "harder than climbing to the blue sky" with extremely little resistance. Such facts indeed dulled the comrades' perception of difficulties quite a bit.

The commanders of the major military regions in the north also rushed back to attend the meeting this time. Chai Qingguo didn't speak at first. Seeing everyone fall silent temporarily, he suggested: "I think it's better to fully utilize the Beijing-Suiyuan Railway extended from Beijing-Zhangjiakou now, liberate Inner Mongolia first, and then march into Outer Mongolia."

"Then what about Duan Qirui?" Hua Xiongmao asked.

Chai Qingguo replied: "Back then, Zhang Liang could disperse Xiang Yu's eight thousand soldiers by playing the flute. I think inducing Duan Qirui to surrender is also not bad."

"Inducing Duan Qirui to surrender? I think it's difficult." Hua Xiongmao was very skeptical about this.

Chai Qingguo smiled and replied: "If Duan Qirui doesn't surrender, his subordinates may not be willing to die with Duan Qirui. Now many Beiyang troops who fled into Shanxi with Duan Qirui have secretly run back to Hebei. As long as the propaganda is effective, I don't think the soldiers of the Beiyang Army are that firm."