Jiangxi, Nanchang. Afternoon of November 15, 1912.

There was a knock on the door of Zhang Xun's house, and the doorman opened. Outside the door were several personnel in gray uniforms, their expressions indifferent. The leader showed an identity card, "We are from the People's Internal Affairs Committee, is Zhang Xun at home?" ”

The old porter was frightened at that time, the People's Internal Affairs Committee is now "famous" in Jiangxi, and those who were taken away by the People's Internal Affairs Committee were sent to various judicial institutions in all likelihood, and after trial, they were either sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment or the death penalty. If there is anything more humane about the People's Internal Affairs Committee, it is that after joining the People's Internal Affairs Committee, at least there will be no problem of not seeing people alive or dead.

"My lord is not here." The old porter stammered.

The staff of the People's Party's Internal Affairs Committee took out another document stamped with a red stamp, "Whether Zhang Xun is there or not, this is a search warrant, and now we are going to go in and search." ”

Regardless of whether the old porter could understand it or not, the staff pushed open the old porter and rushed into the courtyard of Zhang Xun's house. The old porter couldn't stop these people at all, so he hugged the waist of the staff closest to him, and shouted loudly: "Our master is not here, you can't go in." ”

The staff didn't move, and he said seriously to the old porter: "Old man, if you obstruct official business, you will be sentenced to three years in prison." You let go of your hands now, and I'll act like it didn't happen. What do you think. ”

Hearing this, the old porter hesitated for a moment and then let go of his hand. But he still tried to block the staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee, "Our lord is not at home, you can come back later." ”

At this moment, only to hear the door of the main hall ring, Zhang Xun appeared on the steps of the main hall with a proud and slightly angry look, looking at the staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee condescendingly, Zhang Xun said coldly: "What are you pushing and shoving an old man?" ”

The staff of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, like the staff of other branches of the People's Party, have been trained in a wide range of situations. Zhang Xun's level of bravado is simply a pediatric thing. The staff stepped forward and said, "Zhang Xun, we have received a report about your involvement in the rebellion, please come with us now to be investigated." ”

"Who is falsely accusing this behind this?" Zhang Xun asked with a seemingly righteous attitude.

"Whether you participated in the counter-revolutionary rebellion or not, we will know after the investigation of this matter, this is an arrest warrant, please come with us." The staff showed Zhang Xun an arrest warrant.

Zhang Xun took the arrest warrant with a clear conscience and looked at it. At this moment, a shout suddenly came from the backyard, "Stop, don't move!" Moments later, gunshots rang out in the backyard.

The staff of the People's Internal Affairs Committee were serious and polite when they spoke, and at the same time as the situation occurred, one of them jumped up like a cat and a mouse, and in the blink of an eye, they controlled Zhang Xun and the old porter. One comrade pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Zhang Xun and the old porter, and the other two comrades had already drawn their pistols and covered each other and rushed into Zhang Xun's main hall, there was no one in the main hall, and the two comrades covered each other and rushed through the main hall towards the backyard.

Gunshots rang out three times in the backyard, and when the two comrades arrived at the gate of the backyard, two people on the ground were holding their legs that had been hit by bullets and were shouting. Four comrades of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs pointed their pistols at each of these two men. A woman's screams rang out from the back house with the door closed.

"Take it all!" The cadre who led the team gave the order.

Not only Zhang Xun, but also those old upper echelons who had formed the party in Jiangxi were arrested or taken away to assist in the investigation. Their families were also told that they were not allowed to leave the city. He Zudao, as the secretary of the party committee of the "Jiangxi Military Management Committee," the highest department of power in Jiangxi, was personally in charge of this matter.

"Send all these people to the concentration camp in Anyi and manage them in a unified manner. From now on, whoever makes trouble, whether it is their own trouble, or whose families besiege local governments to seek explanations, will all be arrested and sent to concentration camps. He Zudao rarely gave such a ruthless order, so this young man who always had a kind smile in Pingsuri's face turned cold, which made the comrades feel quite pressured.

No one discussed whether these people were innocent or innocent, and at the mobilization meeting before this, He Zudao conveyed Chen Ke's order, "Due to the pressure of the recent situation, in order to save administrative costs to the greatest extent and improve the efficiency of social management." Those who have opposed the land reform policy have either verbally opposed it, or have acted in violation of the law, or have engaged in some kind of petty action. They were no longer required to consider their individual rights, and they were all imprisoned in concentration camps. ”

He Zudao's mobilization meeting was also very simple, "Who is our enemy, who is our friend." It is divided according to the basic land policy attitude towards the base areas. Don't think that what we are doing now is cruel, and putting them in concentration camps is the greatest humanitarianism. If the situation continues to be tense, our level of tolerance will be greatly reduced, and then these people will not be treated in concentration camps, but will probably be executed on the charges of counter-revolution in the present. ”

Jiangxi has also carried out a rectification campaign, and all comrades who think that the land reform policy is "excessive" are now carrying out in-depth study in the party schools, and the comrades working in the front line have a common attitude, and all those who oppose land reform are enemies of the people's party. The mobilization meeting went quite smoothly.

"There was basically no leakage in this operation, and there was also evidence of collusion between many people and the Beiyang secret envoys. For example, Zhang Xun, Yuan Shikai invited Zhang Xun to Beijing to take up a military position, and even copied the letter of appointment on the secret envoy. What to do with Zhang Xun? Gong Guohua, director of the Jiangxi People's Internal Affairs Committee, asked He Zudao.

He Zudao replied: "For all such categories, ask them first whether they are willing to go to Beiyang to take office." If you want, let's not embarrass them, and send them away in a bright light. Those who refused to leave were sent to concentration camps. ”

"Isn't it too cheap for them? They've done so many things, and it's not wrong to kill them. Gong Guohua had some regrets.

He Zudao said with a smile: "If they stay in the concentration camp, we will not abuse them, and we will try our best to ensure the safety of these people's lives." defected to Beiyang, but he would encounter more possibilities of death. Whether it's cheap or not, it depends on how these people judge. ”

Before they were sent to the concentration camps, the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs screened the captured men. was arrested together with the secret envoy of Beiyang, and Zhang Xun had no illusions about his future. After being seized power by Wang Youhong in 1910, Zhang Xun served as the governor of Zhejiang for a period of time, and after the fall of the Manchu Dynasty, Zhang Xun returned to his hometown in Jiangxi with the mood of fighting to the death, trying to confront the People's Party by forming a political party. Like other forces that tried to confront the BJP, Jang Hoon's efforts were a complete failure.

The formation of political parties by the gentry in Jiangxi once became a trend, but the trend was always just a trend. Running a political party is not a tea party, it is not simply a group of disgruntled or ambitious guys to hold a tea party, and it can be called a political party. Political parties represent first and foremost a political and economic aspiration. The political attitude of the gentry and landlords, who were mainly in opposition, was all against the various systems imposed by the BJP. These people resorted to all means at their disposal, except for the fact that they did not dare to resist violently in direct fact. Petitions, marches, incitement to the masses, or hiring people to seek death and sell their lives on the premises of the BJP's military-run government are, in general, to add to the BJP as much as possible.

By 1912 these actions had gradually disappeared, not because the BJP had always tried not to take drastic measures to deal with these matters that moved the gentry. Rather, it was because the people of Jiangxi supported the People's Party, and these gentry always had to pay for such actions every time they raised them, and in the face of the reality of no progress, these people felt that it was not worth the loss to continue to do so.

The gentry shrank for the time being, but the People's Party violently launched a large-scale arrest and detention operation. Zhang Xun passed through the street after his arrest, and he heard gunshots in many places in the city of Nanchang, which was still in order. Zhang Xun has already established that the People's Party is not just arresting Zhang Xun alone, but has launched large-scale arrests in other places at the same time.

Zhang Xun had not been in contact with the people in Beiyang for a long time, and the secret envoy suddenly brought a message from Yuan Shikai, which implied that Beiyang had recently united with the southern provinces to "put pressure" on the People's Party, hoping that Zhang Xun would be able to return to the mountains and take up a military position in the Beiyang New Army. No matter how dull Zhang Xun is, he understands that this is the prelude to war. And the People's Party carried out a large-scale arrest operation at this critical moment, and it seems that it is also preparing to start a war with Yuan Shikai. During such a period of time, the People's Party is likely to adopt a "desperate future" approach to Zhang Xun.

Zhang Xun is 59 years old this year, and at this age, he doesn't care too much about life and death. When facing the test of life and death, Zhang Xun chose to maintain his dignity. His waist was straight, although he did not put on a posture of complete confrontation of not leaving, not sitting. But Zhang Xun didn't say a word, he had already made up his mind that even if someone described the People's Party's Internal Affairs Committee as a hell of Yama, he would not say a word again.

"Zhang Xun," but the young man in his twenties sat at the table and called Zhang Xun by his name, Zhang Xun was furious in his heart, but he held back, and his small eyes showed anger under his thick eyebrows, but his lips were tightly closed.

After the comrades of the People's Internal Affairs Committee shouted Zhang Xun's name, they threw a letter of appointment on the table, "We will ask you a question now, do you want to go to Beiyang to take office, or do you want to stay in Jiangxi." If you want to take office, then make it clear and we will send you on the ship to Shanghai. If you don't want to go, just say it. ”

Zhang Xun was a little surprised in his heart, what did the People's Party mean by this? What is the temptation to say to yourself, and then you will be charged with a crime? Or do you really want to send yourself away? But not long after his decision to say nothing, if he violated it like this, Zhang Xun felt that he was too fickle. And Zhang Xun thought that the People's Party was not qualified to control Zhang Xun's decision, so he subconsciously tightened his lips.

The young comrade said with a mocking smile: "Zhang Xun, I have seen a lot of your expressions of looking at death as home, but when you really tied these people up and shot them, I have never seen anyone who did not struggle." Before cutting off their heads, let them stick their necks out, so that it will be convenient for us to cut them, and they will die quickly and suffer less. I have never seen such a cooperation in such a self-benefiting thing, and they all shrank like turtles. You think you can keep silent and punish you casually, and you can call me from morning to night. So don't pretend, if you want to leave, stay and say something happy. ”

Seeing the young man talking about all kinds of cruel behaviors as if nothing happened, Zhang Xun didn't dare to make a mistake. The impatience in the young man's tone made people like Zhang Xun who had seen the world feel a deep fear. It takes a lot of skill to get the truth out, and it's much easier to simply make people suffer. Zhang Xun thinks that he can keep his mouth shut, but the purpose of torture is only to make Zhang Xun scream, Zhang Xun does not think that his backbone can make him keep his dignity silently. If the People's Party must kill itself, Zhang Xun feels that less flesh and blood suffering is a last resort.

Enduring a strong sense of shame, Zhang Xun replied loudly: "I want to leave Jiangxi." ”

"Are you sure you want to leave Jiangxi?" The young comrade asked.

"That's right." Zhang Xun replied through gritted teeth.

In less than 20 hours, Zhang Xun was already on the ship to Shanghai. Many of the passengers around him were known to Zhang Xun, and they all had a sad or death-defying look on their faces, and at the same time there was a kind of confusion. Because these people may still be tied with ropes before they get on the boat, and they are all untied after they get on the boat. Before taking them on board, they were also allowed to go home and prepare their luggage. Most of them still have their families with them. If you don't take into account the risk of being assassinated in the middle of the process, this is clearly an exile. As soon as the whistle sounded, the drawings purchased by the People's Party from Britain, the processing equipment purchased from the United States, and the river steamer built by themselves slowly moved.

The young comrades were responsible for intimidating the guys, and after the boatload was sent away, the comrades held a meeting to summarize their work. How intimidation can be implemented more effectively should have been discussed. It's just that the young comrades have other worries at work.

"These people gritted their teeth one by one before leaving, it seems that this is going to become our mortal enemy."

"Can you promise to kill them all in the future?"

"Aren't we against forming a personal grudge? It's not just these people, but their families also hate us. ”

"Chairman Chen's song "Come in February" sings well, those who plant melons get melons, those who plant beans harvest beans, whoever sows hatred suffers himself! Is this a kind of hatred? ”

"Hey, hey! The first thing that sows hatred is whether these people are good or not. ”

"Or say, 'How can you repay grievances with virtue?' Zi said: 'How can you repay virtue? Repay grievances with straightforwardness, repay virtue with virtue'. If you are worried that they will carry out counter-revolutionary actions, then you should put them in prison or execute them now, why force them out and add to the trouble? Casting a long line to catch big fish, I always feel that there are too many uncontrollable factors. ”

"I fully agree with Chairman Chen's plan, but it is a bit unfair. There are so many discerning people in the world, and we can know our purpose at a glance. ”

"We are revolutionaries, not here to be good people. The enemy will definitely oppose us, so let them make a statement now, and I think it's the right thing to do! ”

"That's right, the hidden enemy is the hibernating snake, and we have to be on guard all the time. To intensify the contradictions at one time, we can either fight with real swords and guns on the battlefield, or honestly admit that it is now a revolutionary world. Good for everyone. ”

After more than half an hour of debate, the young comrades gradually reached a consensus. There are a lot of negative feelings in the implementation, but it's the right thing to do. Just looking at the current calm situation, we mistakenly think that this calm can continue indefinitely, which is to cover our ears and steal the bell.

Once the direction is set, the discussion goes straight to the actual operation.

"What should we do with those guys who don't dare to fight the base, is it another round?"

"It's too rude to kill people, and it's too rude to coerce again."

"Lock them up first, and talk about these people after the whole country is liberated."

"Let's not think about what we don't have. Give Secretary He a report and ask. ”

This last suggestion was unanimously endorsed by the young comrades.

After receiving the report, He Zudao quickly replied, "The basic political concept of the base area now is that those who do not work do not eat, and the concentration camp is engaged in their own production. After working personally, they will change. ”

Even the People's Committee of Internal Affairs, in response to the call of the Party Central Committee's large-scale production campaign, has its own land and needs to cultivate it on its own. The young comrades could not help but applaud loudly for this instruction. It is really a joy for a large number of people to let these big men know the hard work.

Because of this applause, these young comrades were forcibly gathered to study for three days. The learning content is simple, "Labor is the most glorious." To think of labor as a punishment is to deviate from the purpose of the revolution. The re-education of the decadent and backward former exploiting class is not a punishment, but a work force that makes them dignified and respectable. ”

After this study, no matter what they think in their hearts, the young comrades no longer talk nonsense.

Yuan Shikai, who was thousands of miles away, looked at the thick stack of information, and his heart was mixed. After Tang Shaoyi's telegram and the letter that arrived immediately informed Yuan Shikai of the failure of the negotiations with the People's Party, Yuan Shikai was not disappointed. He also fantasized about the best-case scenario, where Chen Ke would be stupid enough to enter Beijing and put under house arrest. At that time, the People's Party was leaderless, and Chen Ke was in the hands of Yuan Shikai, so the People's Party was afraid that it would also be a rat trap. At that time, Beiyang had a certain initiative.

Since Chen Ke immediately rejected this invitation, Yuan Shikai knew that the negotiation was actually impossible to succeed.

This time, it was not only Tang Shaoyi who sent personnel, but also sent a considerable number of personnel to all provinces in order to build a siege posture against the People's Party. The People's Party expelled a large number of talents in Beiyang in the base area, which really made Yuan Shikai overjoyed. These people were driven out of their hometowns, and the only choice at the moment was to defect to Beiyang. With the help of this group of people, Beiyang's strength should be even better.

It was not until November 20, 1912 that the People's Party made public its political program to the whole country through newspapers throughout the country, the first of which was to implement comprehensive land reform. The People's Party has publicly stated that it will never adopt a policy of redemption in land reform. Yuan Shikai thought he was wrong at first, but after reading it several times, he was sure that this was indeed a public declaration of the People's Party. Yuan Shikai's lips trembled for a moment, and he suddenly laughed out loud, "Chen Ke, if you do this, you are looking for death!" You are going to be the enemy of the landlords and gentry all over the world! ”

Yuan Shikai was excited, and saw Xu Shichang take a stack of newspapers into Yuan Shikai's office. As soon as he entered the door, Xu Shichang saw Yuan Shikai walking in the house with his hands behind his back, and Xu Shichang said excitedly: "President, Chen Ke posted no news in the newspaper. ”

"Kikuto, I've seen it." Yuan Shikai had regained his composure at this time, and there was a confident power in his voice that had been rare in recent years.

Xu Shichang was also extremely excited, "President, Chen Ke is still young, I thought he was going to follow Zhu Yuanzhang's old path, build a high wall, accumulate grain, and slowly become king." Unexpectedly, he actually publicized the People's Party's land reform decree this time, how could the landlords in the world agree with him? At present, the provinces are only afraid that they are writing letters to our central government. ”

Yuan Shikai had a smile on his face, "Don't worry, the provincial governments may not be able to do anything about this, and it will take a few days for the local gentry to make trouble." ”

While he was talking, Yuan Shikai's guards came in to report, "President, I received a telegram." ”

Xu Shichang's face showed joy, but Yuan Shikai asked calmly, "Where did you come from?" ”

There was no joy on the guard's face, and he replied cautiously: "It's a telegram from Chen Kefa in Wuhan." ”

The joy on Xu Shichang's face immediately disappeared without a trace, and Chen Ke sent a telegram at this time, which was not a good thing nine times out of ten.

Yuan Shikai took the telegram and read it several times before letting the guards go down.

"President......" Xu Shichang asked with concern.

Yuan Shikai handed the telegram to Xu Shichang, and continued to walk around the room with his hands behind his back.

Xu Shichang glanced at the telegram draft, and there was not much content, "The Great President's Honor, if the Bianluo Railway, a branch line of the Jinghan Railway, can go through Xuzhou and extend to Lianyungang, it can greatly promote the economy along the way." Funds have been raised, workers, the railway from Lianyungang to Xuzhou is about to be completed, and the railway from Xuzhou to Shangqiu has also been surveyed. The President is requested to order the Henan government to cooperate. If this railway can be completed, it will be a great presidential achievement. We look forward to replying. ”

Xu Shichang knew that the People's Party would definitely respond to the actions of the Beiyang government, which was not only a political contest, but also a military conflict. Unexpectedly, the People's Party launched an action against Beiyang in the name of building a railway. For a while, Xu Shichang couldn't think of any solution.