Insufficient balance

  "Bohemian, is it necessary for the people's revolution to kill all the landlords and gentry?" Chen Tianhua asked. This was a question he had never dared to ask before. Originally, Chen Tianhua was just listening and didn't want to speak up. But now, he couldn't help but ask this question. This was Xu Xilin's bottom line.

  Chen Ke stretched out his left hand and made a gesture of recommendation towards You Huan. "We invite Comrade You Huan to answer this question."

  Chen Tianhua had a very good impression of You Yun, but he had never heard her talk about anything related to revolution. To Chen Tianhua, You Yun seemed like an engineer, not a particularly excellent lecturer, and an excellent woman, but not a firm revolutionary. When Chen Ke recommended that You Yun speak, Chen Tianhua looked at her with a slightly surprised gaze.

  "Huh?" You Yun was surprised that Chen Ke actually recommended him to answer the question about revolution, a topic that Chen Ke and others had always debated fiercely. He wasn't very interested in it to begin with, nor did he understand it very well.

  "I said I'm not coming." You Yun hastily refused.

  "Just share your thoughts on Xing Tai's question earlier. We're all comrades, speak freely and there's nothing to worry about." Chen Ke encouraged with a smile.

  "Miss Yu, does the people's revolution have to kill all the landlords and gentry?" Since Chen Ke had said so, Chen Tianhua also wanted to see what attitude his fellow party members would take. He asked very seriously.

  "If the landlord class resists the people's revolution by force of arms, then... well, if they take up arms first, can't we just defend ourselves?"

  Never fire the first shot! You Yu's answer made Chen Ke laugh in his heart. This kind of measured fighting skill really made Chen Ke very satisfied. Chen Ke had never taught You Yu this aspect, and he hadn't even discussed it with his comrades. So he was happy in his heart, but waiting for the next question. Whether You Yu could show off his personal abilities, whether these abilities would meet the needs of the struggle, Chen Ke looked forward to it.

  "What is Miss Nang planning to do with Shuang?"

  "Industry is very profitable, everyone can make money together."

  "What does Miss Youyun think about the conflict between the people's revolution and the capitalist owners' revolution mentioned by Mr. Wenqing?"

  "We won't bully them and they can't bully us. This, this... under the new system, nobody bullies others or gets bullied themselves. How great is that."

  Not only Chen Ke, but everyone else couldn't help but nod slightly. You Xuan seemed to be answering vaguely, but she grasped a key point - the new system. Everyone present would not misunderstand that the new system You Xuan mentioned was the new system established by the people's revolution, rather than the capitalist system.

  Indeed, You Heng continued to say, "Wen Qing told us about the European textile mills, told us about the British sheep eating people, and told us about the European slave trade. I read in Germany that there was a slave trade. China can't do this. That's too cruel. That's not right."

  Chen Tianhua was quite knowledgeable and not entirely ignorant of the world, so he also knew a thing or two about what You Yun said. Moreover, he had no reason to refute You Yun's views. After some deliberation, Chen Tianhua asked: "So, if the gentry also followed the people's revolution as advocated by Wen Qing, they could also live well. The revolution wouldn't harm them?"

  You Yun had listened to Chen Ke lecture on some revolutionary principles and thought about some revolutionary things, only not as deeply. If what she said earlier was just narrating the part of the revolutionary theory that she could identify with, after listening to Chen Tianhua's words, You Yun suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

  "The intellectual youth used to say that the new system is an industrial system. In an industrialized China, everyone can produce far more goods than they need, and then through equal transactions, make every person's life very good. This is a system in which everyone can live well. If you are not satisfied with this system, it means you are too greedy. You want to take all the benefits for yourself. Such people must be overthrown."

  Chen Tianhua thought that You Yun would, like Chen Ke, expound on some radical revolutionary principles. Unexpectedly, You Yun's words were so mild. This response, full of feminine characteristics, was essentially the same as Chen Ke's, but somehow managed to place the people's revolution in the position of being "bullied". It sounded rather pitiful and touching.

  This person, especially a woman, is different after reading books! Chen Tianhua praised in his heart. Thinking of what Chen Ke had said earlier, "Even if it's just talking about reason, the people here are all highly educated, and deceiving some uneducated commoners is easy." Earlier, when Chen Ke said this, he was arrogant and cruel, but after hearing You Huan's response, Chen Tianhua deeply agreed with Chen Ke's comment.

  Seeing Chen Tianhua lost in thought, Hua Xiongmao smiled and said: "How about it, Xing Tai? Our comrades here are not ordinary, right?"

  Chen Tianhua did not show any disgust at such self-praise, and nodded in agreement.

  "I've asked Wen Qing this kind of question before, and he's always answered like that. Xing Tai, you're also a bookworm who has traveled to many places. You must know how bad those rich and powerful people are. If you don't discipline them, they won't listen. Wen Qing said that revolution is not about killing people, but about saving people. Those bad people, if you don't discipline them, they'll be unscrupulous. In the end, there will be no good outcome." Hua Xiong Mao was not very talkative in daily life, and at party meetings, Zhou Yuan Xiao was the most silent, speaking the second least, precisely because of Hua Xiong Mao.

  "Zheng Lan's words are reasonable, but Wen Qing's theory... Ah, it's too murderous." Chen Tianhua sighed.

  Having heard this, Chen Ke barely suppressed his smile. A revolutionary like Chen Tianhua saying something so murderous - what kind of world is this?

  Qizhui was not as refined as Chen Ke, and he immediately replied: "Since Xing Tai said so, I must clarify a few points for Wen Qing. Since Wen Qing arrived in Shanghai, we have been with him, and Wen Qing is tolerant and kind to people. This revolutionary theory is just a matter of fact, it's not about being overly aggressive."

  Chen Tianhua had just arrived and found that Chen Ke was far inferior to himself in expounding revolutionary theories. The comrades of Chen Ke's party were deeply impressed after listening to his own words. Chen Tianhua thought he could win them over. Unexpectedly, at the critical moment, these people stood on Chen Ke's side from theory to emotion, and not one person supported him. His initial underestimation of Chen Ke had vanished. It seemed that convincing Chen Ke was no longer possible, and it seemed hopeless to convince his party members. He thought that if he wanted to make progress, he could only do something here first. Thinking of this, Chen Tianhua asked a question that he should have asked long ago, "Wen Qing brother, what is the name of our party?"

  "We haven't even decided on a name yet."

  When he heard this, Chen Tianhua almost burst out laughing. He knew that they had been together for two months now, and yet no party name had been decided on. To think that if it were any other party, the name would have been settled long ago.

  "What are your opinions on the name of this party?" Chen Tianhua asked.

  "Xing Tai, although you are the Minister of Propaganda, this matter cannot be handled by you." Contrary to Chen Tianhua's expectations, it was not Qi Hui and Hua Xiongmao who had been closely following Chen Ke, but rather You Yun.

  You Yu said this without stopping, and she slapped her hand on the table, "Since Wen Qing has always talked about people's revolution, let's just call it People's Party."

  "Not bad, not bad." Huaxiong Mao smiled and said.

  Qī Huì Shēn also had no dissenting opinions. Following the party's procedures, everyone voted to decide. Chen Tianhua had his own thoughts, but he also understood that even if he opposed it, it would be useless, so the vote was passed unanimously. The name of the People's Party was thus decided.

  What followed was Chen Ke's performance, which greatly surprised Chen Tianhua. Chen Ke did not grandly bestow official titles or give everyone some flashy but empty positions. Nor did he establish a large number of rules and regulations. Chen Ke first revised the People's Party's "Three Major Principles for Party Member Conduct".

  1. Theoretical contact with reality,

  2. Closely link with the masses

  Three, criticism and self-criticism.

  For these three points, Chen Ke's statement is quite interesting. "Our theory is not clear enough now, and everyone is a party member, so there are no masses. So, for now, let's just focus on criticism and self-criticism. Tang Taizong said that using people as mirrors can make gains and losses clear. Since we are Chinese, we should inherit Chinese culture, use people as mirrors, in other words, accept the criticism of our comrades. Only then can we know if there is a problem with our work and our usual words and deeds."

  Although everyone may not really take this matter seriously in their hearts, this reason is not wrong. So they nodded in agreement.

  Chen Ke continued: "You've all read the Analects, right? The Analects say, 'I reflect on myself three times a day - am I loyal to others when making plans for them? Am I trustworthy in my interactions with friends? Do I review and practice what has been passed down?' This is self-criticism. Although it's not exactly the same as what we're saying, our ancestors' insights are quite profound. What our ancestors said is still the three major principles I put forward."

  Chen Tianhua was stunned, the current revolutionary party is openly anti-Confucius and anti-Ruism, Chen Ke's style of doing things in a contrary way made Chen Tianhua somewhat puzzled. However, what happened next was not just puzzlement, but it made Chen Tianhua burst out laughing.

  Chen Ke required that every party meeting must end with criticism and self-criticism. "If there is no intentional content for criticism at the beginning, don't worry. Is the way people speak polite? Are the words spoken appropriate? These are all content for criticism, and this is the focus of criticism."

  What kind of party is this, it's just a school. Teaching out such a group of people, can they make revolution? Chen Ke talks about revolution, fierce and cruel, but when doing things, he is hesitant. Chen Tianhua really couldn't understand Chen Ke.

  Chen Tianhua smiled, but found that no one else was laughing. This made Chen Tianhua feel inexplicably ridiculous instead.

  "Star, do you know that those wealthy families place great emphasis on etiquette? Every word and deed must be taught. If one's words or actions are not in line with etiquette, they will either be forced to kneel or receive a beating. Or, after being beaten, they will still have to go and kneel. Wen Qing's rules are truly sincere."

  Chen Tianhua felt embarrassed after hearing this.

  The "Three Major Principles of Party Members' Behavior" was adopted unanimously.

  Chen Ke then began to introduce the recent situation and assign tasks to each person.

  According to plan, the lecture with the sign of Shanghai Renxin Medical College will start in two days. The external part is mainly a chemistry lecture centered on "The Story of Candles". The chemistry class for progressive young people will officially start tomorrow, and Chen Ke has assigned this task to You Huan. Next, Chen Ke will personally give a lecture on Yan Fu's "Tianyan Lun" (Evolution and Ethics). After the completion of this course, Chen Ke will talk about "Materialistic Historical View".

  Hua Xiongmao is in charge of continuing to sell medicine and finding engineering teams. Qi Hui Shen is responsible for the overall operation of the lecture activities, including external liaison and material mobilization. Zhou Yuanxiao is in charge of guarding the headquarters - the dyeing workshop. The lectures for progressive youth will be held here.

  Chen Tianhua was responsible for editing the lecture manuscripts with Chen Ke, and compiling them into a collection of lectures. Chen Ke had already come up with a title: "The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism". Moreover, around this lecture, Chen Ke planned to publish a newspaper called "Huangpu Review", which would be distributed free of charge to participants in the grand lecture as a promotional material for the new school.

  Finally, Chen Ke said that if this lecture achieves its desired effect, he will strive to establish a reading organization called Huangpu Xueshe.

  Other comrades thought that such an arrangement was highly feasible, except for the fact that it cost more money, there were no other problems. Chen Tianhua remembered the Huaxing Society he organized with Huang Xing and others, the whole process was identical to Chen Ke's. However, due to someone's betrayal, it failed before the uprising could even begin. From his probing, Chen Ke seemed to know nothing about this matter, and didn't seem like he was lying when speaking. If that were really the case, then one could only say that great minds think alike. But Chen Tianhua still felt uneasy, so he probed further: "Wenqing, since you want to overthrow the Qing dynasty, armed uprisings are indispensable. Are you planning to launch an uprising in Shanghai?"

  "I won't start a rebellion in Shanghai, the enemy's forces are too strong here, starting a rebellion would only lead to our comrades' deaths. If we want to start a rebellion, it should be where the enemy's forces are weakest."

  "Are the Wenqing still going to launch an uprising in Anhui as previously planned?"

  Chen Ke did not directly answer Chen Tianhua's question, but solemnly said: "Xing Tai, I want to emphasize the difference between people's revolution and bourgeois revolution. The uprising of people's revolution is not that we want to launch an uprising and then drive and deceive the common people to die for us. The uprising of people's revolution is that the people themselves have been unbearable, they want to stand up against the old system. What we need to do is to connect with the masses, and then lead the masses to fight against tyranny, establish a bright new world. This is something we need to do before we die. So if you haven't made good preparations, don't talk about uprising casually. Otherwise, that would be irresponsible to yourself, not only will you die, but also let a large group of people follow you to death. That's wrong."

  Chen Ke continued, "As for the matter of uprising, let's discuss it after this grand lecture is completed and everyone has accumulated theoretical knowledge. If we're thinking about inciting people to rise up during the lecture, that would deviate from the original intention of the grand lecture."

  "Isn't this grand lecture by Wen Qing meant for revolution?" Chen Tianhua was even more surprised.

  "The revolution is to save people. By giving this lecture, spreading knowledge, and listening to this lecture, people can gain something. This is part of the social revolution in itself. The purpose of the revolution is to promote national progress, which is the ultimate goal. Gathering comrades through this lecture is the purpose of this activity. Rebellion is not even considered."

  Since everyone had no objection, Chen Ke announced the adjournment of the meeting.

  The following week can be said to be the most interesting week Chen Tianhua has ever spent. Although there were all sorts of doubts in his mind, the days were very fulfilling. All the people around him didn't have so many big principles, nor did they have so much dissatisfaction. Except for busy work, it was still busy work.

  Chen Tianhua finally understood why his comrades in the party always followed Chen Ke. Apart from arranging work, Chen Ke was always working personally and always chose the most difficult tasks. When setting up the venue, Chen Ke would choose to lift tables and chairs, which required the most effort. After the lecture ended, while Du Zhenghui and other external comrades were still immersed in the excitement of the course, discussing its content, Chen Ke was the first to roll up his sleeves and clean up the venue. When inspecting the venue, it was always Chen Ke who discovered and solved various small problems. It seemed that wherever Chen Ke went, there would be work to be done. And yet, Chen Ke always handled these tasks as if they were nothing out of the ordinary. The entire lecture proceeded smoothly in this manner.

  After a busy day, Chen Ke spent almost the whole night writing drafts. The next morning, when Chen Tianhua woke up, neat drafts were already on the table. Chen Ke was sleeping in his clothes on the recliner beside him. All Chen Tianhua had to do was read through these drafts, discuss with Chen Ke if there were any parts he didn't understand, and if there were no other issues, revise the drafts into language that ordinary people could comprehend. There were debates but no quarrels. Everything could be discussed openly without hiding anything.

  Not just for one or two days, but for the entire week of lecturing in Yunnan, Chen Ke had not taken off his clothes to sleep except for washing up once in the morning and once at night.

  What's even stranger to Chen Tianhua is that his comrades are not surprised by this. Because they are also busy, Yu Xuan did mention helping out, but Chen Ke let Yu Xuan focus on practicing lectures. Whenever he has free time, Chen Ke would go with He Zuodao and Zhou Yuanxiao to watch Yu Xuan prepare lessons. He Zuodao asks questions about things he doesn't understand, and Chen Ke gives evaluations of Yu Xuan's lecture demeanor. Zhou Yuanxiao still doesn't like to speak much, but occasionally he also puts forth some opinions.

  Hua Xiongmao and Qi Hui Shen were busy every day, basically invisible. Every time they came back, it was either with money or carrying thick copies of the "Huangpu River Review". Qi Hui Shen heard a phrase, "lead by example". These comrades from the People's Party were indeed leading by example, and those young people helping out on the periphery initially slacked off, but soon felt ashamed. In just a few days, the team's work ethic underwent a huge change. As the lectures progressed day by day, not only did everyone not slacken, but instead, there was a sense of renewed energy.

  Many young people have seen this and some of them have even taken the initiative to join in.

  This is truly something Chen Tianhua has never seen before, a team and organization so full of vitality and infectiousness.

  Until the seventh day of the lecture, before someone came to make trouble, Chen Tianhua even thought that this lecture would go on like this in a calm and orderly manner.