"Jiangsu hopes to abolish the local currency and accept the Renminbi as Jiangsu's only official currency..." Yu Chen was still using the same old arguments. Nanjing was not far from Hangzhou, and with current transportation conditions, a trip to Hangzhou didn't take much time at all.

Wu Xiangyu and Ji Ye listened quietly. Hearing Yu Chen finish with the same old rhetoric, the gist was still that Jiangsu was giving the Central Government face, so the Center should give Jiangsu some tangible benefits. The situation in Jiangsu was somewhat outside the Central Government's expectations; the results of land reform had at least provided a safety net for Jiangsu. Private industry and commerce had completely collapsed, but Jiangsu itself had not collapsed. Although in the long run, it would only take one natural disaster for Jiangsu's economy, with its industry already completely finished, to collapse entirely. For a country like China with frequent natural disasters, such events were common. One only had to wait, and it likely wouldn't be long. It was just that doing so would be a bit too inhumane.

But regarding Yu Chen's attitude—or more accurately, the attitude of Jiangsu's current ruling class—the Central Government absolutely could not accept it. The Jiangsu Special Administrative Region is an administrative unit of China, not the Central Government's master. The Central Government had no reason to provide special treatment to Jiangsu.

Seeing that Yu Chen had finished speaking, Wu Xiangyu waited for a moment before replying, "The Central Committee will consider it."

Hearing this, Yu Chen knew that the People's Party had no goodwill to speak of. He knew that begging was absolutely useless, so he began to add bargaining chips. "We in Jiangsu are willing to pay taxes to the Central Government."

"The Central Committee will consider this matter," Wu Xiangyu replied calmly. His main job regarding Jiangsu was not to decide its fate, but to record it.

"We are willing to give up Jiangsu's army, and have the Central Government station troops here. The people of Jiangsu will also undertake military service." Yu Chen gritted his teeth and continued to increase the stakes. Jiangsu's army was now just a presence; if the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army wanted to solve Jiangsu with military force, they could do so at any time. However, this army itself was also a major psychological pillar for Jiangsu. If military expenses weren't so heavy right now, Yu Chen wouldn't have made such a compromise.

Wu Xiangyu quickly made a judgment. Even if Jiangsu paid taxes to the Central Government and gave up its army, its essence would not change. Administrative, judicial, and other powers were still in the hands of the Jiangsu Assembly. Since the Central Government had no intention of solving Jiangsu militarily at present, these concessions didn't have much practical significance. So Wu Xiangyu changed his wording slightly, "I will report this matter to the Central Committee."

Hearing this, Yu Chen knew that the Central Government had no intention of taking advantage of Jiangsu, which was even more terrifying than if they did. He steadied his emotions and said loudly, "Governor Wu, Jiangsu is part of China! Regardless of current political disagreements, the people of Jiangsu are Chinese after all. You cannot just stand by and watch us die. If the Central Government has any dissatisfaction with me, Yu Chen, you can arrest me. Kill me or cut me to pieces, as you wish. If you think I, Yu Chen, have been disrespectful to the Central Government, I can kowtow every three steps from Nanjing all the way to Zhengzhou. But the Central Government cannot just watch Jiangsu die."

These words sounded open and aboveboard, but they only *seemed* that way. Yu Chen had absolutely no ability to resist whatever the People's Party wanted to do with Jiangsu. Wu Xiangyu just listened to these words, though the secretary and guards beside him seemed somewhat moved. Ji Ye, who could be considered to have come from a rough background, had heard too many such grandstanding words since childhood. She barely managed to hold back her laughter. However, the smile she couldn't completely suppress on her face still betrayed her emotions. At least Wu Xiangyu completely saw the mocking flavor in Ji Ye's expression.

Wu Xiangyu felt he couldn't give Yu Chen any more unrealistic fantasies. There was no point in continuing to entangle like this. He said, "Governor Yu Chen, if the Central Government wants to solve the Jiangsu problem, then Jiangsu must be like other provinces—same system, same organizational model. What you are asking for now is ostensibly pleading for the people of Jiangsu, but in the final analysis, you want to maintain the interests of Jiangsu's current ruling class. You are using the people as a shield to put gold on your own face; I think this is very unnecessary. The Central Government cannot specifically go and save you property owners. Since Jiangsu is the world of property owners, then continue to follow the path of the world of property owners. When the propertied class can't solve problems anymore, they run to beg the proletariat, hoping the proletariat will give the propertied class a hand. Don't you think this request is logically too ridiculous?"

Yu Chen didn't expect Wu Xiangyu, such a young man, to speak so sharply and to state the essence of the problem so thoroughly. Yu Chen himself had absolutely no intention of giving up power, nor did he have any thought of abandoning Jiangsu's current political system. He had only run to beg because there was really no other way. Listening to Wu Xiangyu's meaning, the Central Government's attitude was very clear: if they wanted the Central Government to intervene, it would inevitably be a comprehensive solution for Jiangsu. This wasn't even a treaty under coercion; it was demanding that Jiangsu's current ruling class kneel and surrender, and commit suicide along the way. Yu Chen himself absolutely could not accept this, and the Jiangsu Assembly absolutely could not accept it either.

At this point, Yu Chen could only say, "Then can Jiangsu borrowing money from the Central Government be discussed?"

"The Central Government has no budget in this area, so it is impossible to consider such a thing," Wu Xiangyu refused crisply.

"Then is the Central Government just going to watch us die?!" Yu Chen's tone was extremely severe.

"If you were willing to die, that would show you really have backbone!" Ji Ye couldn't help but say. "Dying is easy. Hanging yourself, drinking poison, jumping into the river—it's very easy to do this in Nanjing. If you don't have the courage to commit suicide and want someone else to do it for you, you just have to send troops to attack our People's Party, and you can get your wish immediately. But it's been twenty years, and not only have you not actively done this, I see you are still trying your best to avoid doing this. So you won't die. Unless the King of Hell personally takes you away, as long as you have a breath left, you will all strive to live. Trust me, I am absolutely not joking."

Although Ji Ye emphasized she wasn't joking, the secretaries and guards had already chuckled quietly. Even Wu Xiangyu, who was calm enough, barely held back his smile.

Yu Chen's face had turned somewhat purple with anger. Yu Chen naturally knew Ji Ye; more than twenty years ago, when the Restoration Society attacked Nanjing, Yu Chen was on the battlefield, and Ji Ye was also on the battlefield. Now the two sides met again with completely different objects of allegiance. This time, Yu Chen still failed to gain the upper hand.

Steadying his spirit, Yu Chen said slowly, "The People's Party doesn't oppose all private ownership; there are plenty of private enterprises in your territory. Why must you be so ruthless towards us in Jiangsu?"

Ji Ye also replied in a calm tone, "Our People's Party hasn't done anything to your Jiangsu at all. I think you, Governor Yu Chen, are definitely very clear on this. That you have reached this step is entirely your own choice. Have we been ruthless to you? No. We just did nothing. If you want the socialist system to provide a safety net for private ownership, I advise you not to consider such things anymore. It's impossible."

Having his words completely blocked by Ji Ye, Yu Chen just felt he had really come to the wrong place. His negotiating opponent was young, but his thinking was extremely clear. Behind such answers reflected the attitude of the People's Party Central Committee.

Yu Chen did not give up there. He asked, "Then what exactly is the People's Party's view on our Jiangsu?"

"The People's Party has no view on Jiangsu. We just want to see what choice the people of Jiangsu will ultimately make. The choice of the Jiangsu people will decide Jiangsu's fate, and that is all," Ji Ye replied.

"Heh heh!" Yu Chen laughed coldly. "Then can I understand it this way: the People's Party wants to eradicate our Jiangsu gentry and merchants all together, and before eradicating us, you want us to lose all face and be reviled by ten thousand people. In the future, when we are mentioned, the people will hate us to the bone. From then on, they will follow your People's Party willingly. Killing a man is nothing more than a head hitting the ground; don't you think doing this is too excessive?"

To Yu Chen's harsh words, Ji Ye was completely unmoved. She replied calmly, "The people of Jiangsu will make their own choice."

After Yu Chen left in a huff, a comrade in the negotiation team couldn't help but say worriedly, "Will they engage in assassination or sabotage?"

Ji Ye laughed, "You think too highly of these people. If they really had that backbone, they would have done it long ago. If you asked them to die themselves, they would feel their lives are very precious!"

"There will always be some desperadoes, right?" The comrade was still not quite assured.

Ji Ye laughed, "Desperadoes with only brute courage will be discovered before they can do anything. As for those with both wisdom and courage, who would be willing to sell their lives for this bunch? Even if there are a few die-hard loyalists, they are famous people. Even if they desperately wanted to do this, those masters in Jiangsu would probably try their best to stop them. Those masters are very clear: as soon as we discover someone doing this, the death date for those masters will have arrived. Brotherhood and loyalty are things they just blow about with their mouths."

Hearing Ji Ye discuss these matters so casually, the comrade from the working group felt it made sense, but couldn't quite believe it. If it were the People's Party, no matter who the opponent was, as long as they were identified as an enemy, the enemy must be eliminated. However, Ji Ye looked down on the People's Party's enemies so much that it was a bit hard to believe.

Ji Ye and Wu Xiangyu exchanged a glance. Although they didn't speak, both had already mentally labeled this comrade as "unusable." Fearing death is normal, but having no confidence in one's own organization's capabilities only shows that this person has no trust in the organization at all.

Facts were as Ji Ye said. Although Yu Chen had the rage to kill everyone in the People's Party, he simply didn't consider actually doing so. He understood that now Jiangsu could only rely on itself to survive this difficulty, although this difficulty was extremely hard to survive.

As the saying goes, blessings never come in pairs, and misfortunes never come singly. When Yu Chen returned to Jiangsu, Li Rui, Commander of the Jiangsu National Defense Force, ran to tell Yu Chen in exasperation that the Jiangsu National Defense Force had started to clamor for pay.

"Was the military pay not issued on time?" Yu Chen was both shocked and angry hearing this news. As Jiangsu's deterrent force, the army's pay had always been issued on time.

"Of course the pay was issued on time, but these people want a raise!" Li Rui said angrily.

"Why?" Yu Chen asked.

"The officers and soldiers clamoring for pay said that life at home can't go on anymore. If the military pay isn't raised, life at home can't go on!" Li Rui replied in exasperation.

"Whoever clamors for pay, kick them all out of the army!" Yu Chen gave the order right then. "At this time they think of a raise. The government has spent so much effort to issue pay on time! Not being considerate of the government, only thinking of themselves—none of these people can stay!"

Just after sending Li Rui to solve the issue of the clamoring army, Wu Cai, the person in charge of the Tax Police, came to see Yu Chen. "Governor, the brothers in the Tax Police are clamoring to collect taxes from People's Party ships passing through the Grand Canal."

Yu Chen's brain buzzed. When the People's Party widened the canal, they had reached an agreement with Jiangsu that People's Party ships would not be charged any crossing fees. Now the people in the Tax Police force actually wanted to collect taxes from People's Party ships. What on earth were they trying to do? Commit suicide?

Seeing Yu Chen's face turn iron-green, Wu Cai hurriedly explained, "The brothers in the Tax Police used to have some extra income to subsidize their families. Now with the situation like this, our merchant ships have no business and aren't running. The ones passing through the canal are all People's Party ships. The brothers said, not much, just collecting five hundred yuan per ship, this year we could at least..."

Yu Chen shouted, "Go back and tell them, if they don't want to work in the Tax Police, then get out immediately! You encounter this kind of thing and don't suppress it immediately, but run here to speak for them. Do you manage the Tax Police, or does the Tax Police manage you?"

The more Yu Chen spoke, the angrier he got, his voice becoming somewhat hysterical. He had been full of worries all the way back to Nanjing from Hangzhou, his emotions were overly agitated, and he hadn't eaten anything for almost two days. Encountering so many things in succession, Yu Chen suddenly felt his chest tighten and his head spin. He only felt his vision go black, and the ground beneath his feet began to rotate.

The People's Party's intelligence agencies quickly collected intelligence on Jiangsu. The corruption of the ruling class truly surprised the cadres of the People's Party. At this time, instead of overcoming difficulties together, everyone wanted to solve their own predicament first, stepping on others' shoulders to escape the disaster.

"This is the instinctive attitude of human beings, but from a social perspective, this method cannot solve problems." In various meetings of the People's Party, Jiangsu was used as an example to vigorously criticize various backward methods. It wasn't just Jiangsu; news from all over the world was gradually transmitted back to China, and the entire world situation was presented before China. After the economic crisis, capitalist countries that once looked unparalleled instantly fell into chaos. These stories, which were familiar to Chen Ke, were truly fresh news to the members of the People's Party and the Chinese civil service system.

Of course, it was far from the point of killing cows, burning wheat, and pouring out milk. When it reached that point, Chen Ke had already ordered a massive propaganda campaign. Although after the founding of New China, the living standards of the Chinese people had truly improved. Even in Chen Ke's original timeline, pouring out milk appeared in China more than 50 years after the founding of the PRC.

A truly major event internationally was the United States enacting the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930, the act raised tariffs on more than 2,000 imported goods to historically high levels. At the time in the United States, 1,028 economists signed a petition to boycott the bill; and after the bill was passed, many countries took retaliatory tariff measures against the United States, causing both U.S. imports and exports to drop sharply by more than 50%.

China was also forced to reduce trade with the United States and turn to increasing trade with the Soviet Union.

This was unavoidable. Of China's three biggest trade partners—Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union—the United States began to engage in trade protectionism and implement high tariffs. Britain, originally known as the "Nightwatchman of the World Economy," under the impact of the Great Depression, abandoned its status as nightwatchman and began to discuss trade barrier issues.

The People's Party's intelligence agencies had already caught wind that after the United States adopted a high import tariff policy, Britain was preparing to implement the "Imperial Preference System." In fact, Britain had already started to do so.

After World War I, Britain was impacted by the United States in the international market, so it gradually abandoned the free trade policy and paid increasing attention to the issue of Imperial Preference. The capitalist world economic crisis that began in 1929 forced Britain to completely abandon the free trade policy, publishing the "Import Duties Act" on February 9, 1932. According to the act, except for those with special provisions, goods imported into the UK were subject to a 10% ad valorem import duty, plus additional duties; at the Ottawa Imperial Economic Conference held in July of the same year, based on the principle of "home producers first, empire producers second, and foreign producers last," Britain signed 11 bilateral agreements with the dominions and between dominions. The main contents were: Britain gave tariff preferences to imported goods from dominions and colonies; Britain restricted the import of agricultural products from countries outside the empire to ensure the sales market for agricultural products from various dominions and colonies of the empire in Britain; British industrial products enjoyed preferential treatment when exported to dominions and colonies; and high tariffs were imposed on goods from countries other than Britain. The Imperial Preference System, from its formation to World War II, enabled Britain to preserve the imperial market to a certain extent and withstand the pressure from the United States and Germany. In 1938, Britain's exports to the empire accounted for 40% of total exports, and imports accounted for half of total imports.

Fortunately, the People's Party had positioned itself in the Soviet Union, and Sino-Soviet trade was doing very well. The massive amount of raw materials from the Soviet Union stimulated the economy in the Northwest. Even many comrades within the party were very skeptical: China's own raw material production had plenty of potential to be tapped, so why import heavily from outside?

Chen Ke couldn't explain this issue from a long-term perspective, as it involved too much content. The protection of domestic resources, the protection of the domestic environment, and many subtle thoughts about the country. For example, Chen Ke ordered that the phrase "vast territory and abundant resources" should not appear in Chinese textbooks.

Not all news in this world was good. For example, in the face of the Great Depression, Japan's steel industry actually developed somewhat. The United States exported a large amount of scrap steel to Japan, and Japan's steel production began to climb. It was estimated that in 1930 it could reach 500,000 tons, as much as 1/40th of China's.