On the third day after the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army completely occupied Henan, Chen Ke and some comrades from the General Office of the CPC Central Committee set off for Henan. In any newly liberated province of the People's Party, Chen Ke would stay in the provincial capital of that province for a while.

Before leaving, Chen Ke ordered the capital of Henan Province to be changed from Kaifeng to Zhengzhou, which surprised many comrades. No matter what speculations the comrades had, Chen Ke still did not see any problems. As the transportation center of Henan, Zhengzhou is far more suitable as a provincial capital than Kaifeng and Luoyang. In addition, as a new city, Zhengzhou also has great advantages in urban design. Both Kaifeng and Luoyang faced troublesome demolition work, and once the provincial capital was made, these problems were particularly troublesome.

Upon arrival in Zhengzhou, Chen Ke, chairman of the Central Military Commission, was greeted by a mountain of documents. In addition to the Second Town of Beiyang led by Duan Zhigui, the Henan Military Region of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army also completely annihilated the 20th and 21st Towns of Beiyang near Anyang. "Fight a war of encirclement, a war of annihilation, and do not strike a rout" This is the core idea of mobile warfare. Of course, there is also a lot of work to do after the formation annihilates the enemy.

Of the three co-commanders of the three towns of Beiyang, one was killed and two were captured alive. Duan Zhigui was the one who was unfortunately killed. There is a scene of Duan Zhigui's death in the document, perhaps because the quality of the black and white photos is not good, in a hollow, Duan Zhigui's limbs are twisted and fall to the ground like a broken humanoid toy. According to the report of the autopsy team of Henan Medical College, Duan Zhigui's body showed traces of shrapnel and bullets from artillery shells, as well as shrapnel from grenades and grenades. The cause of death is tissue failure due to excessive blood loss. An autopsy found that two bullets had injured Duan Zhigui's chest, and a piece of shrapnel had severed an artery in Duan Zhigui's leg. Whether it was internal bleeding or external blood loss that caused Duan Zhigui's death, the military doctors of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had some opposing opinions.

After the troops learned of the autopsy report, some comrades hoped that the cause of Duan Zhigui's death could be determined in more detail. If it is killed by bullets, it is the credit of the front-line combat infantry that is even greater. If it was the shrapnel that took Duan Zhigui's life, then the artillery unit would have had an even greater credit. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had not studied military traumatology in depth, and it was summer, and the autopsy decomposed quickly. The body can only be buried as soon as possible. The last thing became a cold case later. In the history of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, the infantry and artillery shared the honor of killing Duan Zhigui.

These are still trivial matters, Chen Ke did not say anything when he read the report, and he was quite concerned about the issues in his heart, and the maintenance rate of the troops' equipment was one of them. Chen Ke himself led his troops to fight, and he had to unload a lot of equipment, backpacks, water bottles, and luggage before each battle. Once these equipment are lost, they must be replaced, and it is best not to lose them. The industrial level of the base areas is far less powerful than that of the Americans, and for the Americans, the cost of recycling and transporting equipment back to China is higher than that of issuing new ones. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army must be careful in its calculations, and if it can, it will not be wasted.

After reading the post-war work report of the troops, Chen Ke felt quite satisfied. Immediately after the war, the troops began to fully recover packages, magazines, and the rate of loss was very low. Moreover, the commander of the unit personally led the comrades to recycle, and did not adopt high-pressure means such as criticism, but adopted the method of education and encouragement. The soldiers were all ordinary peasants, and thrift was also instinctive.

After reading this question, Chen Ke began to look at the prisoner issue. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army captured nearly 40,000 Beiyang troops. The results of the actual survey of these 40,000 people are stacked. First of all, the composition of the Beiyang Army has undergone great changes. After reading the report, Chen Ke convened a meeting of the Central Military Commission.

The commanders of the troops won such a victory, annihilating more than 60,000 people in Beiyang, and the casualties of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army were less than 1,000. In front of Chen Ke, chairman of the Central Military Commission, everyone's eyebrows fluttered, and the comrades who spoke were full of pride, greatly listing the achievements of their troops. Even the comrades who did not have their turn to speak were overjoyed and waited to go up and speak.

It is human nature to boast about oneself, Chen Ke only reminded one point, "Comrades, I will ask some questions when I speak, and I will interrupt a little, and I ask comrades to cooperate." ”

It was too late for the comrades to be happy to be asked, and they did not feel inconvenient at all. Chen Ke did not have many questions, and the comrades in the statistical department summed up the basic situation of the Beiyang Army in the standard survey report form of the base area. What is the proportion of the old Beiyang Army, the proportion of officers, the length of time it has been formed, and the composition of the personnel of the troops. In response to these questions, Chen Ke began to ask questions.

The three Beiyang troops were all attacked by the People's Party in the movement war, and their deployment was disrupted from the beginning, and these problems were extremely targeted, but they were difficult to implement. It was also difficult for the comrades of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to give a positive answer to the characteristics of the Beiyang troops, and the general view was that the tactics were backward and rigid. He likes to put on a long snake formation, and when he encounters a flank attack, or a frontal position is breached, it will immediately cause a total collapse. The level of shooting is low, and he only knows how to shoot from a platoon gun. In the confrontation with the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, not a single unit was able to hold out for more than 20 minutes.

In terms of defense, the Beiyang Army has an obsession with walls, houses, and other buildings that can completely hide from bullets. When the situation is at a disadvantage, they will flee there regardless of casualties. There is no concept of the rapid conversion of these buildings into a combat defense system. There is no training to rely on the terrain to carry out defense.

On the other hand, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, with its complete tactical system and effective tactical training, showed an overwhelming advantage in the face of the Beiyang Army.

During the day, the comrades of various units praised themselves greatly, and Chen Ke held a higher-level military meeting in the evening, and this meeting was more efficient. Chai Qingguo, commander of the military region, reported several key issues with a tired face, "The composition of the Beiyang Army is very different from before. In the past, the Beiyang Army recruited the sons of Liangjia in Hebei. In this battle, in addition to the second town from the old Beiyang Army, the newly built twentieth town and twenty-first town, of which bandits accounted for thirty or even forty percent. These bandits are not strong in their will to fight, and when they see that there is a advantage to take advantage of, they seem quite daring to fight. When the situation is not in their favor, they will start to run away. Fortunately, these few battles were all battles of encirclement and annihilation, and the troops of the Beiyang Army had no way to escape. Even so, there is the problem of scattered small forces escaping from the encirclement. ”

Gu Lu was also extremely annoyed when he heard Chai Qingguo talk about the composition of the Beiyang Army, "Those routs who escaped did nothing along the way, but they harmed many people. When we got the local report, we sent out all the cavalry, and we got rid of the bastards. After the statistics, more than 400 people who escaped robbed thousands of families along the way, committing more than 200 rapes and murders. We have executed them after a public trial in the area where they were committed. I hope that in the future, when we investigate the Beiyang Army, we will be able to conduct a more detailed investigation of the composition of the Beiyang Army. These bandits are so hateful. ”

Hearing Gu Lu say this with anger, Chen Ke couldn't help but laugh and said: "Now we haven't officially torn our faces with Yuan Shikai, and when we officially start the war, we can use the name of Beiyang as bandits." For example, Yuan Bandit. ”

While speaking, Chen Ke picked up the pen and wrote the word "Yuan Bandit" on the paper and passed it to everyone, and many comrades laughed out loud after reading it. "Come early on this day!" Chai Qingguo gritted his teeth and said.

"That's all for later," Chen Ke waved his hand to silence his comrades for a while, "Comrades, on August 1, Germany elected to Russia, and the European part of the First World War will break out within a month. ”

"The first time, and the second time?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Until the balance of terror is reached, world wars will continue to break out." Chen Ke said with a smile. He already doesn't care that such little "prophecies" are caught. As long as World War I broke out, it was only a matter of time before World War II broke out. Although China was likely to gain true national independence and sovereign integrity during World War I, it was inevitable that China would participate in World War II.

"Will there be an outbreak in Europe and an outbreak in Asia?" Gu Lu is more interested in this direction.

"The Asian part is first and foremost the Chinese Liberation War. I don't want war right now, but we can't be afraid of war either. In this real war of liberation, we have only one object on which we can rely on, and that is the broad masses of the people. All other political forces are our enemies. The difference between them is simply whether they dare to jump out and confront us directly. ”

"Chairman Chen, didn't you want to form a united front before?" Zhang Yu asked.

"That's no longer realistic, the basis of the united front is a common enemy. More specifically, it is the attitude towards imperialism. But the British are not stupid, they will offer a huge price. The possibility of a united front against imperialism is no longer there. As for the anti-feudalism, we have only one ally, the people. The others were lackeys of the feudal forces. The difference between them is that they want to become feudal rulers themselves, or they go to the feudal rulers. It's essentially a raccoon dog. ”

While he was talking, the guard sent a report in, and Chen Ke smiled after reading it: "Said Cao Cao Cao arrived, the British chased very closely." Chased from Wuhan to Zhengzhou. ”

"What is Chairman Chen going to say to the British?" Zhang Yu asked.

"It depends on what the British say to us." Chen Ke replied.

The British delegate, Sir Humphrey, was so imposing that, upon seeing Chen Ke, he questioned why the People's Party wanted to destabilize the situation in China. Chen Ke laughed, "Sir Humphrey, how old are you?" Didn't your parents and teachers teach you to be a human being with the most basic courtesy? When you come to my door, it will not be your turn to sow wild for me. What is the difference between how you behave now and the drunken hooligans on the streets of Britain? With such a quality, you still want to be a diplomat? ”

Sir Humphrey never dreamed that Chen Ke would say this, and he was stunned. Chen Ke didn't mean to provoke anyone, he continued to laugh and said, "Sir Humphrey, I will now officially inform you. I demand that the British warships withdraw from the Yangtze River within a month. If you don't leave, we, the BJP, will take coercive measures. ”

Seeing Sir Humphrey's stunned expression, Chen Ke continued to laugh and said, "We in the People's Party welcome any normal business action, so your merchants will not be harmed in any way in our base area. If they have any problems, they can go to our government and the judiciary. However, our base areas only have the laws of the base areas, and there is no possibility of the existence of extraterritorial jurisdiction of any foreign country. At this point, I hope you can figure it out. ”

Sir Humphrey was a diplomat after all, even if he was a little dazed by Chen Ke's blow, he still maintained a minimum of calm, Sir Humphrey's lips trembled slightly, and he asked: "Do you People's Party want to join the German side?" ”

In response to Sir Humphrey's inquiry, Chen Kezheng replied: "Our People's Party has no intention of joining your imperialist war, and it is impossible for us to defect to either Germany or England. What we have always pursued is China's independence and liberation. In this regard, whoever stands in the way of China's independence and liberation is our enemy. ”

Sir Humphrey was full of anger when he came to Xingshi to ask for guilt, and after the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army easily annihilated the three towns of Beiyang, the British's confidence in Yuan Shikai's idea completely flew out of the clouds. Of course, Yuan Shikai could not have made it public, but the British had their own intelligence system. The 60,000 field troops in the three towns were all wiped out, and the British simply could not accept the incompetence of Beiyang.

The British knew very well that the People's Party was complacent at this time, and that it would only be possible to increase the appetite of the People's Party and make the People's Party demand more benefits from the British. So half of Sir Humphrey's imposing imposing was pretended, and the other half was more annoyed by the incompetence of the North Sea.

But Sir Humphrey didn't expect Chen Ke's appetite to be so big. According to the conversation, Sir Humphrey had understood that Chen Ke was asking the British forces to get out of China. As for what "the BJP welcomes any normal business action", this is all rhetoric. No one has a grudge against money, and people who do business properly will be treated more fairly wherever they are. But the British believe that fairness in China must first guarantee British privileges.

Even if Chen Ke said it so clearly, Sir Humphrey felt that Chen Ke might just be blackmailing, and he stared at Chen Ke seriously, "Mr. Chen, if you are an enemy of Britain, you are an enemy of the world. ”

Chen Ke smiled heartily: "Sir Humphrey, you should say this to Beiyang Yuan Shikai, and put more pressure on him after you finish speaking." We, the People's Party, are not saying this for the purpose of blackmailing you, our goal has always been to liberate the whole of China. So don't have any illusions about us. What we're going to do has been made clear to you. ”

Sir Humphrey no longer had any pretending expression, he looked at Chen Ke seriously, "Mr. Chen, are you destined to choose war?" ”

"Sir Humphrey, we of the People's Party have chosen not to be afraid of war, we are not insane, and we do not have any pathological obsession with war. But we are Chinese, and we the People's Party love China. We have an obligation to safeguard China's interests. Even if it takes our lives to defend China's interests, we are willing to accept that price. ”

Having said that, Sir Humphrey knew that there was nothing left to talk about today. Requesting a temporary adjournment, Sir Humphrey left the BJP headquarters. The headquarters of the BJP is located in the middle of the barracks, which stretch for several miles. Sir Humphrey estimated that there must have been at least 50,000 soldiers in the barracks. Look at the neat queue and the atmosphere that permeates the barracks after the victory in the war. Sir Humphrey felt very uneasy in his heart.

If Chen Ke was a reckless man who didn't understand the world at all, no matter how brave and good he was at fighting the British, he wouldn't find it so difficult to deal with. In the hundreds of years of British expansion, it is not uncommon for a brave enemy to appear. But Chen Ke himself is a person with his own deep understanding of the world, and if Chen Ke's identity as a Chinese is abandoned, he is no different from those rulers of London, Berlin, Paris, and Moscow. Skillfully taking advantage of the early stage of the war between the Entente and the Allies to launch an attack on the Beiyang, this alone made it extremely difficult for Britain. Britain is powerless to punish the BJP at the moment. If the British were mobilized, the Germans would have died of joy.

With strong uneasiness, Sir Humphrey had tried to communicate with the Legation in Peking by telegram, but he had changed his mind, and he was ready to rush back to Peking at once to discuss his attitude towards the question of China in person.

The BJP did not care what the British thought, and Chen Ke immediately ordered a telegram to be sent to the whole country to inform the whole country of the BJP's position. Thinking of the money to be spent on electrifying the whole country, Chen Ke felt distressed. The object of the BJP's cooperation is the working people, and the telegrams that send messages to the whole country cannot be known to the working people in any case. A lot of money was spent, but the propertied class across the country knew Chen Ke's position and attitude. Spending money on these people, Chen Ke felt that it was more economical to shoot them in the head. History proves that these people can't change their eating and think that they were born to be rulers. If these people die, the positive effect on China will far outweigh the negative effects.

But Chen Ke restrained his killing intent, and Grandpa Mao thought that these people could be reformed. It is also necessary for Chen Ke to learn from Grandpa Mao's policies. After all, a human head is not a leek, and it is impossible for it to grow after being cut.

When I went back and reported to my comrades about the negotiations with the British, the comrades on the Henan side were amazed. But the next day, August 3, 1914, Germany officially declared war on France after declaring war on Russia. This new information completely relieved the comrades. Britain, France, and Russia had already concluded an entente, and it was only a matter of time before the British declared war on Germany. In the event of a major war between Britain and Germany, only Japan on the periphery of China could enter the war against China. In the face of Beiyang, the comrades were full of confidence in victory. In the face of Japan, even if they did not have enough confidence, they did not think that they would fail.

"Chairman Chen, what is our main direction at the moment?" Chai Qingguo asked, "Do you want to continue to attack Beiyang?" ”

Chen Ke replied: "The task now is to continue the people's revolution and liberate the working people. Once again, I emphasize that without the support of the people, we ourselves are nothing. Without continuing the people's revolution, we will not be able to continue to enjoy the support of the people. Our revolution is not about overthrowing anyone, but about liberating the people. Whoever does not allow the Chinese people to be liberated, we will bring down whom! ”

"And where is the next direction of operation?" Chai Qingguo continued to ask.

"The next direction of the operation is to complete the land reform in the newly liberated areas first." Chen Ke's answer was simple and clear.

The People's Party has rich experience in land reform, and now that Chen Ke has determined the direction, the Henan Military Region immediately began to assign tasks and discuss key points.

Chen Ke fell silent, he once thought that the People's Party might not be able to catch up with the situation of the First World War, and that the War of Liberation would probably drag on until after the First World War, at least after the death of Yuan Shikai. But the situation did not evolve to that point, and there were many other factors that also brought with it, due to the absence of World War I and the humiliation and suffering that the Paris Peace would inflict on China after the war. The anti-imperialist sentiment of the intelligentsia was far less profound. The current situation is more similar to the party's Jiangxi era. The class struggle has become the most acute and major contradiction in China. In this period, Chen Ke did not have enough confidence in who would choose to stand on the side of the working people.

This confusion about the future lasted only a short time, and Chen Ke quickly retracted his mind and began to participate in the discussion of land reform in Henan. After all, Chen Ke has been to too many places in Henan and has seen too many actual appearances of Henan. He felt the need to sketch out some of the blueprints.