In the conference room of the Governor's Office, He Rui, dressed in military uniform, spoke to the Party, government, and military cadres who had rushed back to Fengtian from various places.

"Establishing and perfecting the Party, government, and military systems, launching land reform, and developing the economy—these are our current key tasks. There will be no more Warlord system outside the pass; instead, there will be a system where the Party leads the government and the Party leads the army. The system of old China is completely terminated outside the pass; we will begin a new era of Industrial China!"

There were nearly a hundred Party, government, and military cadres in the audience. Hearing this epoch-making declaration, Zhao Tianlin began to applaud almost simultaneously with Xu Chengfeng. Both had strong enthusiasm on their faces. Zhao Tianlin, a J.D. from the United States, hadn't expected He Rui to start a brand-new political system in China just one year after returning. Xu Chengfeng's heart was boiling with the expectation of displaying his skills fully.

With someone taking the lead, other leading cadres applauded along. As one of them, Tang Gui was equally excited, but he also felt some shame at this moment. Three days ago, when Tang Gui went to Jilin Governor Meng Enyuan to deliver the telegram copy, he hadn't realized that what he delivered was an ultimatum to Meng Enyuan.

Tang Gui was 20 years old this year and came from the lower class. He increasingly found that he didn't understand the minds of the upper class at all. Looking back now, Meng Enyuan was 61 years old. Why would a warlord of the old era, old enough to be Tang Gui's grandfather, try to get close to Tang Gui like a neighborly uncle? Naturally, it was because Meng Enyuan already understood what had happened: He Rui completely controlled the power outside the pass, and the Beiyang central government could do nothing about He Rui.

He Rui was born in 1890 and was 26 years old this year, 35 years younger than Meng Enyuan. Tang Gui realized that the gap between him and He Rui was by no means 6 years, but 30 years.

If he studied hard, how long would it take to reach He Rui's level? Tang Gui had no confidence in this.

With things on his mind, it was hard to concentrate. By the time Tang Gui forced himself to shake off the feeling of shame, He Rui's speech had reached the end.

"...The Party must be responsible for the organizational structure, selecting Party members, educating Party members, vetting Party members, and promoting the Party's philosophy. The government's work is to push forward land reform, develop education, and revitalize industry. Make the area outside the pass quickly change from an agricultural region to an industrial region. As for the troops, they must create a peaceful environment for national development. This is our work starting from now. The progress of the work is by no means 'take it as it comes,' but must be completed by formulating and realizing a Five-Year Plan."

Hearing He Rui mention specific work, Tang Gui's attention focused immediately. Ever since following He Rui to carry out land reform, Tang Gui felt he had found what he wanted to do—distributing land to the poor masses. Seeing the joy and hope on the villagers' faces, Tang Gui felt incredibly satisfied.

The meeting lasted for two days. Tang Gui was assigned by the Party Committee to the Jilin Provincial Committee. Wu Youping and others were also in Jilin with him. Everyone didn't stay; they set off directly after being assigned tasks. Neither He Rui, who presided over the meeting, nor the leading cadres attending the meeting discussed Duan Qirui's telegram appointing He Rui as Liaoning Governor. The value of this matter stopped at the telegram itself; the moment the telegram was sent, Duan Qirui's significance became negligible.

At the station, Tang Gui saw Chen Deli and hurriedly went up to greet him. Both were land reform cadres who received attention during the Siping land reform and communicated a lot during work. Tang Gui asked, "Deli, tell me more about your method of dealing with the Japanese South Manchuria Railway Company."

Chen Deli thought for a moment and laughed. "The Governor asked me to write about how to deal with Russian companies after arriving in Heilongjiang. I'll write it all for the Party Committee then."

"Do you have anything written now?" Tang Gui was a bit impatient.

The two chatted concisely. Because of the war, the Manchu Qing government signed humiliating treaties after defeat, and the railways outside the pass were basically controlled by Russia and Japan. The current railway lines were roughly T-shaped. The east-west Chinese Eastern Railway was under Russian control, and the north-south railway was under Japanese control.

The two countries established chambers of commerce, schools, and hospitals in the exclusive zones carved out on both sides of the railway, infiltrating deeper and deeper outside the pass. This affected the Civilization Party's control outside the pass, such as grain acquisition and commodity circulation.

Chen Deli had made many attempts regarding this during the land reform, and the results were quite good. Tang Gui felt he was weaker in this aspect, but previously he had partnered with Chen Deli in Siping. Now that they were suddenly separating, he could only hurriedly ask for advice at the last minute.

But the train wouldn't wait. The two chatted for less than twenty minutes before the train whistle sounded. Chen Deli smiled and extended his hand to Tang Gui. "Write often; I await your good news."

Tang Gui grasped the hand of his fellow Tianjin townsman who had come outside the pass with him. "Don't worry, I definitely won't be worse than you."

While the two were bidding farewell, another Tianjin townsman, Mo Yang, was interviewing another Tianjin townsman, Meng Enyuan. At this time, Mo Yang had already resigned from *Ta Kung Pao* and gone to Fengtian to participate in the construction of *Northeast Daily*.

As an interview not long after the newspaper's founding, Mo Yang attached great importance to this interview. Jilin Governor Meng Enyuan resigning from the governorship was considered a major event worthy of the newspaper outside the pass.

Old man Meng Enyuan looked no different from an amiable uncle from Tianjin. When Mo Yang asked what he would do after resigning as Jilin Governor, Meng Enyuan sighed, "When I was young, my family was poor, and I worked as a waiter in a restaurant. Once I bought a sesame seed cake. While eating, a sesame seed fell into a crack in the table. I wanted to pick it out to eat but felt embarrassed. Just then, the storyteller in the restaurant reached a good part, and everyone cheered. I followed suit and slapped the table hard, bouncing the sesame seed out of the crack, and quickly picked it up with my finger and put it in my mouth. It smelled so good."

Mo Yang hadn't expected this old man Meng Enyuan not only to be able to lower his status but also to have the unique humor of Tianjin people; he couldn't help smiling.

After speaking, Meng Enyuan sighed deeply. "Arriving outside the pass and seeing the people living bitter lives, I thought about doing something for the folks outside the pass. It just so happened that Marshal He graciously invited me to be the Director of Agriculture, so I reluctantly accepted it. If I can really accomplish something, it will also be a merit."

"Oh? Governor Meng, do you have any plans as Director of Agriculture?" Mo Yang pressed with a smile.

"Hehe, it's not good to say this first. If I can't do it, wouldn't I lose Marshal He's face? But the Agriculture Department indeed has many things to do. President Mo can wait and see whether I, this Director of Agriculture, am qualified or not."

Hearing Meng Enyuan respond quite calmly, Mo Yang also felt some admiration in his heart.

After interviewing Meng Enyuan, Mo Yang went on to interview Heilongjiang Governor Zhu Qinglan. Compared to Meng Enyuan, who had a pointed face, Zhu Qinglan had a square face and looked quite solemn. Unlike Meng Enyuan, Zhu Qinglan looked somewhat depressed. Not long into the interview, Zhu Qinglan said, "I thank Governor He for his gracious invitation to appoint me as Director of Water Conservancy, but I have spent my life in the military and truly cannot do it. I have already asked Governor He several times to find someone better qualified. Fortunately, Governor He agreed. I will leave for the capital in a few days."

Since some people could be interviewed in the newspaper, naturally some remained obscure. The Siping Statistics Section had been upgraded to the Northeast Statistics Bureau. After submitting the data summary of rural grassroots government cadres for the past two months, Bureau Chief Xu Jia took the opportunity to ask, "Chairman He, are we really not going to keep Division Commanders Xu Lanzhou and Feng Ling?"

"Everyone has their own ambitions," He Rui smiled. After speaking, seeing Bureau Chief Xu Jia's gaze was quite serious, He Rui replied, "What is the result of the Statistics Bureau's analysis?"

Xu Jia answered immediately, "Both will defect to Zhang Zuolin. Zhang Zuolin has always wanted to contend for the Liaoning Governorship. He has prestige inside the pass and knows many people; I'm afraid he won't let go easily. If they join forces, it might be a big trouble."

"I don't think so. There is a story: *three monks have no water to eat*..." He Rui looked at Xu Jia's confused expression and knew this story probably didn't exist in this era yet.

"Everyone says *when three people are of one heart, their sharpness can cut gold*. A team formed with pure profit rather than philosophy as the core has very questionable combat effectiveness. Sending Division Commanders Xu Lanzhou and Feng Ling to Zhang Zuolin makes it easier for us to control the situation. Enemies who huddle together for warmth are easier to locate. Xu Jia, take this as an experience. The so-called big shots are actually not as formidable as everyone thinks; they are just ordinary people too."

Xu Jia agreed very much. "We will treat this as a very good experience. Chairman, now that there are no regular troops hostile to us outside the pass, why still keep the industrial base in Siping instead of moving it to Fengtian?"

"Let me ask you a term: what is a 'Complex Industrial Center'?"

Xu Jia frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and answered, "I don't know."

"Siping has a relatively good social foundation and will be a small-scale complex industrial center. Other cities will first replicate based on Siping's experience. Once Siping's complex industrial center develops to a certain level, we will start transferring. Let Siping continue to develop for now."

This answer was beyond Xu Jia's imagination, but Xu Jia unexpectedly didn't ask more. Regarding unknown things, Xu Jia preferred to see what it would look like first.