[center][img]https://pic1.zhimg.com/80/v2-1edcc5128251d62abe95aaf64c2baf3d_hd.jpg[/img]
[b][i]The Huinan Commune[/i][/b]
[i]Winter Red Turban Party Congress, Part 1[/i][/center]

Wang Huifang grimaced and gritted her teeth as the “Wise Brother’s” lackeys dragged his accuser out of the Palace of the People.  [i]He has some nerve, throwing out the very comrades who fight and bleed for his Cause, rather than face the accusation like a grown man.[/i]  Not that he hadn’t spent the better part of the day defending himself with his usual, utter incapacity for even the slightest self-criticism.  She wanted to shout him down [i]now[/i].  She wanted to [i]punch him in his smug face[/i].  Or better yet, pick up one of the dozen Commune banners around her party and hope to wake him up to reality with a thwack from the pole.  But now was not the time.  Huifang would have some choice words for him, but not before she attended to more important work.

She took a deep breath, stood up from her chair, turned around, and put her hands on her hips.  “Friends,” she spoke quietly but firmly.  The murmurs in her party died down, and those holding the red-and-gold flags stopped waving them and shouting slogans.  “We’re not going to get anywhere standing around here.  There’s work to be done.”

About twenty pairs of eyes locked onto hers, but she was mostly interested in three.  First, the slim, tall, clean-shaven older man in the suit and glasses.  “Lifu.  You’ve got to have some PAF and old Crow Society contacts around here.  Not to mention I’m sure you know your way around any other Anarchist and Free Syndicalist circles.  Go to their parties, one by one, and remind them what the Commune stands for.  Remind them of our commitment to Internationalism, Worker Self-Management, and Union Power.  See what they want and need from us, and also what they might be willing to commit to in return.  They are our natural allies, after all.”

Second, the stocky, large-eyed woman in a fur coat and cap.  “Sai’da.  You speak more languages than any of us, and your ideas demonstrate the room we have to compromise with those who lean towards the Totalist end of the fence.  I need you to reach out to the non-Quin here, especially the ones outside the circles Lifu can reach – Social Democrats, mainline Socialists, No-Labels, even National Syndicalists.  Hear out their thoughts and concerns.  No matter where they are, they’ve got [i]some[/i] worry about Quin Chauvinism and probably prefer [i]some[/i] sort of Federalism to Centralism.  Make sure they understand we feel the same way.  Remind them that Quin Chauvinism against the hated Minga can just as easily turn against any nationality if it’s deemed convenient “for the cause,” if not by one Party Chair then maybe by the next.  That is, if we keep letting power centralize and purges go unchecked.  Hell, if you think they’ll listen tell them all about the Tu’wa Autonomous Oblasts, what they’ve had to gain from Federalism and Socialist Democracy in Belzarov.  I’m sure you know not to name any names or say anything that would sound incriminating, but still deliver the message.”  The last part might have been unnecessary for the sharp Tu’wa Councilor, but some of the others listening could use the reminder.

Finally, the shorter man with the dark eyebrows and goatee, in similar fur garb to his wife.  “Farid.  You’ve already picked out any Belzarovians, and the bright-eyed students and Internationalism-Firsters who fawn over them.  That’s your crowd, but you can also help your wife by taking point on anyone who would appreciate your calls to National Brotherhood among Tu’wa and other Mingalic Peoples.  For some folks, your reputation for bringing out that special bond of language and culture and history that crosses national borders pulls a special chord.  See if you can use it – without pandering to anything Mingalic Supremacist.”  Huifang grinned, and everyone else chuckled, including Farid himself.  There was, of course, no danger of [i]anyone[/i] here endorsing that kind of thought, unless they wanted to attract an angry mob.

She let her grin settle into a natural smile.  “Anyone else who feels up to it should help, if you feel up to it.  I trust you all, friends.  Just try to stick to what you know, listen and really hear what the other delegates have to say, and speak Truth always – but without giving our “brother” any more ammunition than he’s already got.  Or at least, no more than we can’t avoid by being who we are.”

“And what about you, Foreman?” asked Sai’da with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.  “Not like you to avoid the front line.”

“Oh don’t you worry,” Huifang replied, her smile twisting wryly.  “There’s a reason I’m sending you all go gather information and try to start making friends [i]here and now[/i], when we would do just as fine building alliances with meetings we call ourselves.  While you're all making connections, I’ll be working out a proposal with the friends we already have.  Something just uncontroversial enough that our Brother can’t shoot it down, just popular enough to get votes, and just enough of a challenge to make life a little more difficult for the Centralizers.  A proposal on the Rights of Nationalities to Self-Determination…”