Chapter 56

  The revolutionary mobilization work, Chen Ke felt that he was not good at it. Speaking itself is a skill, an ability. This truth is simple, Chen Ke had tried before, but the result was mediocre. I don't know if this thing requires too much innate talent, anyway, the practical result is that Chen Ke thinks everything can't compare to actual action. The purpose of speaking is for practice, and just relying on one's mouth can't build a new world. This is also why Chen Ke didn't try his best to persuade Pang Zi when he first met him.

  This time, Pang Ze was able to come to Beijing with humility, which really exceeded Chen Ke's expectations. It seems that Wu Xingchen made a lot of effort in this matter. Chen Ke did not think that he could make Pang Ze completely take the path of revolution. In rebelling in Hebei, they would have to face the pressure from the Beiyang government directly. Even if Chen Ke himself stayed in Hebei, he would not be arrogant enough to believe that he could defeat the Beiyang army at this stage. However, Chen Ke was also unwilling to abandon Pang Ze and the few Jianghu heroes who came with him. With this attitude, Chen Ke and Pang Ze discussed the matter of rebelling.

  Pang Zi has begun to introduce the process of getting to know Wu Xingchen, and Wu Xingchen also provided a lot of information on the side. From the Boxer Rebellion in the year of Gengzi, to the bloody battle in Beijing, and then to the rebellion in Shandong. Chen Ke was not very interested in these things. The rebellions of this era are all roughly the same, and historical records may be even more detailed than this. At first, Chen Ke still had some questions to ask, but later on, Chen Ke did not say a word, his expression was cold and calm, and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed. His mind was completely focused on considering the reasons for the failure of the uprising.

  It was Chen Tianhua, who sat next to Chen Ke, that felt deeply moved. The rebellions in the south were all small-scale, and many of them didn't even have a chance to launch before being annihilated. In Pang Zhi's and Wu Xingchen's accounts, Zhao Sanduo and Jing Tingbin's uprising, the rebel army resisted the Qing army, attacking churches. Forming an army of 160,000 people spanning twenty-four counties across three provinces: Zhili, Shandong, and Henan. The Governor of Zhili, Yuan Shikai, immediately dispatched Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang to lead the Qing army to Jizhou and Guangzong to suppress the rebel army on a large scale, and personally directed the battle, with over 6,000 troops from Germany, France, and Japan "assisting" in the suppression. This was a huge shockwave that spread throughout Shandong and Hebei. It far exceeded Chen Tianhua's imagination. Wu Xingchen usually seemed quite aloof, even a bit eccentric, and Chen Tianhua had never been very fond of him. But now, such thoughts were long gone. Wu Xingchen had actually experienced such a magnificent and intense experience. As Pang Zhi and Wu Xingchen took turns speaking, Chen Tianhua's gaze kept shifting between the two men's faces.

  This time, not only did Pang Zhuo and Wu Xingchen come, but a total of six people came. The other four were also old brothers who followed Zhao Sanduo to rebel together. At first, everyone was reluctant to speak, but after listening to Pang Zhuo for a while, the crowd couldn't help but interrupt one after another.

  Wu Xingchen's round and chubby face, unique to tall men, had an inexplicable gloom. Apart from supplementing Pang Zhi's introduction, he was also observing Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua. Wu Xingchen had a certain unspoken emotion towards Chen Ke. Their initial acquaintance was not pleasant, and their later cooperation was not particularly close. Chen Ke gave Wu Xingchen the impression of being an apathetic guy. Although Chen Ke habitually wore a smile, he was by no means a bad person. However, Chen Ke's enthusiasm for inciting revolution made Wu Xingchen feel a sense of extreme danger. Wu Xingchen was someone who had crawled out from under a pile of dead bodies; in Beijing and Shandong, if he hadn't been sufficiently vigilant and hadn't noticed something was off before making a swift escape, his head would have probably been hung somewhere by now.

  These years of running around, after repeated failures, Wu Xingchen had also thought that he was exhausted and didn't want to make any more trouble. Hiding in Shanghai and waiting for death might not be a bad thing either. However, every time he remembered his friends and mentors dying one by one, the hatred in Wu Xingchen's heart towards the Qing dynasty and foreigners would boil up again. When he heard that the People's Party was going to rise up, this was the reason why Wu Xingchen decided to join the People's Party. And when he heard that Peng Zhi and other old brothers were preparing to "make some noise", Wu Xingchen pulled Chen Ke over. Even though he knew that Chen Ke and Peng Zhi didn't get along well, Wu Xingchen still tried every means to persuade these brothers, hoping that Chen Ke could have a good discussion with Peng Zhi about the rebellion. Unlike what appeared on the surface, Wu Xingchen actually had great faith in Chen Ke.

  Unconsciously, Pang Ze had already choked out the last words. "In May, I was in Hebei, and Wu Dage was in Shandong. Both armies were defeated. Zhao Sanduo died of starvation in a prison cell in Nangong County, and Jing Tingbin was tortured to death." As soon as he finished speaking, Pang Ze burst into loud sobs. This cry caused the other four Shandong heroes who had come together to have sorrowful and indignant expressions, with tears streaming down their faces. Chen Tianhua also had hot tears in his eyes, his shoulders shaking, and was so choked up that he couldn't speak. In this atmosphere of grief, neither Chen Ke nor Wu Xingchen spoke a word. Wu Xingchen's jaws were clenched tightly, his eyes closed, and his face was contorted in pain. Chen Ke's fists were clenched tightly, his lips pursed together until they turned white, his face was deathly pale, and his eyes seemed to burn with two cold flames.

  It took Chen Tianhua a long time to speak, wiping away tears as he said: "How magnificent! Kill the Qing dynasty's monsters! Kill the foreign religion! These two elderly individuals are truly great heroes! I was in the south at the time and didn't even know about this heroic deed! Alas! My only regret is that I couldn't follow the brothers to fight the enemy back then!"

  It took a long time for Pang Zi to calm down, his eyes were red and his eye sockets were full of tears. "Mr. Chen, last time you told me about two paths, one was to make a big fuss, the other was to make small trouble. You also said that making small trouble would lead to death. I scolded you at that time. But after you left, every time I thought of rebellion, I couldn't help but think of your words."

  There is not much record of this uprising in history books, so Chen Ke naturally did not know that Pang Ze had such an experience. When he heard Pang Ze mention the previous matter, Chen Ke hastily said: "Brother Pang, my words were too severe."

  "No, Mr. Chen is right. I've thought it over repeatedly, if I were to engage in a small fight, I would definitely end up like the two uncles and lose. So when Wu suggested I come to Beijing, I came to listen to what teachings Mr. Chen has."

  Chen Ke lowered his head, wondering how to explain the revolution to Pang Ze. This really put Chen Ke in a difficult position. Looking at Pang Ze and the others, it seemed that they were not going to make a small fuss this time either. In fact, not long after in history, the 1912 White Wolf Rebellion was no less in scale and momentum than the Jing Tingbin Rebellion, but by 1914 it had also been suppressed. The ones who suppressed the rebellion were still the Beiyang Army. History had already proven that without the leadership of a party and a complete organization, the rebellions of the northern heroes would all end in failure.

  "Pang brothers, I must be thinking of helping you rebel. Wu brothers said we are a revolutionary party. Since we are a revolutionary party, planning to rebel is also our duty." Chen Ke said, raising his head.

  "What should we do then?" Pang Zi hastily asked after hearing Chen Ke say that.

  "Why did the Pang brothers want to rebel?" Chen Ke asked very seriously, this is a big question. If you don't find a real reason for revolution and just act on temporary righteous indignation, no matter how heroic you are, you can't hold out against organized suppression. This has been proven countless times in Chinese history.

  As Chen Ke had expected, Pang Zhi said in a loud and clear voice: "Overthrow the Qing, overthrow the foreign powers!"

  "Why must we overthrow the Qing and expel the foreigners?" Chen Ke continued to ask.

  "The Manchu and foreigners are bullying the people. Those foreign religions are doing evil everywhere, and the Manchu are helping those foreigners do evil together."

  "Why should the Qing help them?"

  "This..." Pang Ze couldn't continue. He furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, but felt that he couldn't explain this problem. He looked up at Chen Ke, then shifted his gaze to Wu Xingchen. Just as Wu Xingchen was about to speak, he saw Chen Ke subtly shake his head at him. Wu Xingchen swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

  Unlike the indifference shown on the surface, Chen Ke's party lessons were not as insignificant to Wu Xingchen as they seemed. In fact, Wu Xingchen was very interested in these courses and had gone through great difficulties. Whether he liked it or not, he had to face those memories and think about why he had suffered such a disastrous defeat before. Chen Ke's party lesson undoubtedly pointed out a way of thinking. If compared, among the party members who could understand the content of Chen Ke's lecture, Wu Xingchen would definitely be ranked in the top two. The reason why Wu Xingchen did not show his admiration was only because of his long-term failure, which made him more cautious.

  Without Wu Xingchen's clear hint, Pang Zi also felt that he couldn't say a clear reason, and finally gave up saying: "Wu brother, the words you advised us a few days ago, I don't remember them clearly either. You can repeat it."

  After a moment, seeing Wu Xingchen not making a sound, Pang Zi felt very dissatisfied. He looked at Chen Ke and said, "Mr. Chen, you literary people are always so evasive. If you want to help me, then speak clearly. What's the point of being so ambiguous?"

  "After I've told you everything, you don't take it to heart. You don't try to understand, and what I said is all in vain." Chen Ke replied.

  Pang Zi hated Chen Ke's attitude the most. He was originally impatient, and today he brought up sad things again, making his emotions even more unstable. "If you don't want to say it, then don't sell wonton here." After finishing speaking, Pang Zi suddenly stood up, glaring at Chen Ke with anger in his eyes.

  Chen Ke looked calmly at the emotionally agitated Pang Zi and said slowly, "Brother Pang, if I may say so, your talk of exterminating the Qing and exterminating the foreigners is all learned from following Zhao Da Shu and Jing Da Shu. Whatever they say, you just repeat after them. Your true intention is only to seek revenge. Am I not right?"

  After hearing Chen Ke express his thoughts, Pang Zi was stunned on the spot. Then he heard Chen Ke continue to say: "Now if you can kill Yuan Shikai and kill the county magistrate of Nangong, even if it costs your life, would you be willing to do it?"

  As soon as he heard this, Pang Zi became excited and asked urgently: "Mr. Chen, do you have a way to kill these two people?"

  "Pang brothers, this is where you are not as good as Zhao Da Shu and Jing Da Shu," Chen Ke said calmly. "Those two at least went to fight the church and kill those priests and those bastards who believe in foreign religion for the sake of everyone. You are just taking revenge for yourself. That's why there are tens of thousands of brothers following the two uncles. Even if you use the slogans of the two uncles, what you do is not what the two uncles did. If you just want to take revenge for yourself, you can't even gather any followers in Nan Gong County."

  These words deeply pierced Pang Zi's pain, and he immediately became angry and ashamed. Pang Zi's left hand index finger straightened and pointed at Chen Ke's nose, his face flushed with anger, "Your mother!" Pang Zi cursed again.

  In the early morning, the light grew brighter. Chen Ke blew out the candle, stretched his arms and yawned, then shook his wrists while looking at the stack of manuscripts he had written. Last night, Pang Zi had made a scene, but Chen Ke didn't mind. Wu Xingchen stood up and scolded Pang Zi severely at the time. Chen Ke didn't hold a grudge against him, and instead persuaded Wu Xingchen to calm down. He announced that every morning, he would give lectures to everyone. Although Pang Zi was unhappy, since he had come, he couldn't just storm out directly. Moreover, everyone was tired from traveling from Xingtai to Beijing, so Chen Ke told them to rest. Pang Zi reluctantly left the main house, still fuming with anger.

  Chen Ke couldn't just lie down, so he started pulling all-nighters to write a manuscript. This thing was aimed at the rural revolution, and Chen Ke didn't understand much about the contradictions in the countryside during the late Qing dynasty, but basically, the contradictions wouldn't have changed much. Moreover, people like Pang Zi were preparing to rebel, so they wouldn't become the running dogs of the landlords. Therefore, Chen Ke was finally able to express his feelings freely and wrote out the program for the land revolution with great relish.

  I hope these things can really play a big role. Chen Ke said in his heart.

  The weather is quite cool now, and Chen Ke wore several layers of clothes while writing at night. Now he feels uncomfortable all over his body. He went into the bedroom, took off those clothes, and prepared to take a bath. Turning his head to look at Wu Xingchen and Chen Tianhua who were still sleeping on the bed, Chen Ke made up his mind to let Chen Tianhua go to rural Hebei for social investigation. Without investigation, there is no right to speak. Although Chen Ke's theory of guidance in this article was not wrong, the specific situation would not be so simple. If you want to formulate a reasonable counter-revolutionary step, more detailed information is needed.

  The theoretical education on rebellion is actually not that useful for a long time. Chen Ke is very busy in Beijing, and Chen Tianhua can also play a big role when he is lecturing. Especially after the lecture is over, Chen Tianhua can play an extremely important role in rural work in Hebei. Originally, Chen Ke brought Chen Tianhua here to let him exert his strength in propaganda, arranging him to go to the countryside should be no problem.

  With Chen Tianhua's arrangement settled, Chen Ke's gaze fell on Wu Xingchen. Unexpectedly, this Shanghai boss who was dissatisfied with his life had such an experience. Chen Ke really hadn't thought of this point. Although he knew that Wu Xingchen's experience must be extraordinary, being able to participate in a rebellion of tens of thousands of people was not something ordinary people could have. Wu Xingchen's enthusiasm for the party class far exceeded Chen Ke's imagination, and now Chen Ke somewhat understood. According to the People's Party organization regulations, with three party members in one place, they had to hold a party meeting. He would have a good talk with Wu Xingchen at the party meeting. There was no need to rush now. Thinking of this, Chen Ke picked up the ceramic basin and went to take a bath.

  The temperature is not high, and the well water is warm by comparison. In the midst of the splashing shower sounds, Chen Ke suddenly remembered that he still had to deal with the beehive coal matter. Before coming to Beijing, he really hadn't thought that this would spread out so big. At the same time, many things need to be done. Fortunately, there are many good people here, and looking at their labor situation is also a good test.

  The sound of rushing water startled the others, and they all got up. Chen Ke saw Pang Zi walk out first. "Good morning, Brother Pang!" Chen Ke greeted him. Pang Zi responded with a dark face and rushed to the toilet. The official's courtyard was different, and there was even a special toilet built. When Pang Zi came out, Chen Ke had already finished washing. Looking at Chen Ke's muscular physique, Pang Zi suddenly asked: "I heard that Mr. Chen is also a martial artist?"

  "I know a little."

  "May I ask for your advice?"

  "Brother Pang, if it's just for fun, I'm game anytime. But if you want to compete and determine a winner, I refuse." Chen Ke said with a smile.

  Pang Zi smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, you scholars like to show off your knowledge. Don't say I don't understand what you're saying, are you better than me or not?"

  "Now is better."

  The sound of the bath, combined with the voices of the two men talking, startled everyone. With the sky already bright, the crowd also got up one after another. Upon learning that the two were going to compete, everyone was very interested. The courtyard was very flat and spacious, and both men only wore pants, bare-chested. Young people, all from martial arts families, had well-developed muscles that looked quite good. The crowd stood far away, staring intently at the two men.

  They faced each other, almost simultaneously, and both made a bow. Chen Ke had barely put down his arm when Pang Di suddenly jumped forward, punching Chen Ke's chest with a fist. Chen Ke blocked the punch with his left arm and pushed Pang Di's ribs with his right palm. Pang Di took advantage of Chen Ke's blocking force to dodge and counterattack with a low sweep. Both sides were fully open, exchanging blows, fighting together.

  Although the fists and feet were accompanied by strong winds, looking fierce, Chen Tianhua felt that everyone was just playing around and didn't intend to hurt each other. Pang Zibu's footwork was light and agile, and in seven or eight moves, he had already circled around Chen Ke once. Every time this happened, Chen Ke would counter with a horizontal sweep of his leg, not allowing Pang Zi to get close. After being forced back several times, Pang Zi became excited about the fight. He circled around Chen Ke again for more than half a circle, and when he saw Chen Ke raise his leg to sweep horizontally once more, he quickly retreated one step, letting Chen Ke's leg pass by, then rushed forward one step and slapped a palm towards Chen Ke's armpit. Just as it seemed like Chen Ke couldn't dodge, unexpectedly, Chen Ke suddenly dropped down on one leg, grabbed Pang Zi's wrist with great force, and sent him flying into the air with a throw. Pang Zi was almost lifted off the ground before being slammed to the earth.

  "My day!" Pang Zi cursed as he lay on the ground, then sprang up like a carp, "Brother Chen, this move is good." As soon as his voice fell, Pang Zi pounced again.

  This time, the two men's moves were clearly not as good-looking as before, but Chen Tianhua felt that the killing intent was much stronger. He turned his head to look at Wu Xingchen beside him, Wu Xingchen's expression was serious, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Without a word. Looking at the other few people, they all had similar expressions. Turning his head to look at the two who were fighting, he saw that they were getting closer and closer, their fists, palms, and elbows striking each other's vital points, the sound of "pa pa" intersecting like exploding beans. Just listening to this sound made Chen Tianhua feel sore. After another 30 or 40 moves, Chen Ke and Pang Zi simultaneously pushed a palm at each other's chest, and the two men retreated several steps in succession, only then did they pull open their stances.

  "Chen, you win." Pang Zi laughed happily.

  "I won a move, but it's not considered winning. I'm just a flower rack, and I haven't been tempered through hardships. I think Brother Pang, your fists are harder, and I wouldn't be able to withstand one punch from you." Chen Ke also smiled.

  Pang Zide smiled complacently, but didn't continue the conversation. The two of them bowed to each other again before dispersing.

  "Not bad, Brother Pang, your fists and feet are much more refined than a few years ago." Wu Xingchen said as he walked up.

  "Two of you, what's going on?" Chen Tianhua could still see some doorways in the initial fight, but he didn't understand the close-quarters combat at all. As a man, Chen Tianhua was naturally very enthusiastic about martial arts, and he asked eagerly.

  "Mr. Chen didn't use his full strength when he hit me just now. We continued with the next move. To be honest, it's really not about the fists and feet, three punches and two kicks would have settled it. How could we fight for so long?" Pang Zi explained.

  This sentence is too simple, Chen Tianhua didn't understand it, he looked at Chen Ke with a puzzled gaze. Chen Ke continued to explain, "With Brother Pang's strength, I can break my ribs with one punch. If everyone wasn't just trying out, but fighting for their lives, I would take his punch and give him one back. Both of us would have broken ribs, what's the point of continuing?"

  "So that's how it is." Chen Tianhua finally began to understand. But he still didn't quite get it, "Then what was the meaning of you two pushing each other with your palms?"

  "My fists and feet can't stop, if I keep fighting, I'll definitely get hurt, so I can only break it up like this. If I didn't believe that Brother Pang was just sparring, I wouldn't dare push him with my hands." Chen Ke continued to say.

  Pang Zi didn't continue the conversation, instead he laughed loudly and shouted: "Great! Great! It's been a long time since I've felt so great! Brother Chen, these past two years I haven't competed with anyone. Those bastards can't compare to you, they just resort to dirty tricks. They should stop but won't stop. Damn it, Brother Chen, as a scholar, you actually know the rules of the Jianghu. Rare, rare indeed!"

  They say you don't know someone until you've fought them, and after this little test, Pang Zi was getting into the swing of things and even changed how he addressed Chen Ke, no longer calling him Mr. Chen.

  "These two years are more enjoyable than boxing and kicking, and this time with Brother Pang is the happiest. What's wrong with bookworms? Bookworms can play dark tricks too." Chen Ke also laughed.

  This was what Pang Ze had scolded before, after hearing Chen Ke's teasing, Pang Ze couldn't help but laugh out loud. Some of the unpleasantness from before has been alleviated a lot.

  After breakfast, Chen Ke began to lecture. The content of the morning was the relationship between the Manchu and foreigners. These brothers who intended to rebel had never heard such a detailed account before. They knew that foreigners had invaded them, but they did not expect that there were actually two Opium Wars with different results each time. This history lesson really opened everyone's eyes. However, after all, everyone had not received systematic education like Chen Ke. As for the complex interests between the Manchu and foreigners, everyone understood much more slowly.

  The lesson was not finished by noon, so Chen Ke handed the outline to Chen Tianhua and asked him to continue teaching in the afternoon. He also wrote a single character and asked Chen Tianhua to go shopping before finishing the lesson. After lunch, Chen Ke headed towards Beijing University. There were still classes on that side in the afternoon.

  The gatekeeper and Chen Ke were already familiar faces, Mr. Gu Hongming had instructed the gatekeeper to let Chen Ke come and go freely in the school. After exchanging greetings, Chen Ke headed towards the auditorium. As soon as he entered the auditorium, he was startled - yesterday there were only over 50 people inside, but today there were suddenly twice as many people.

  "Please, no one ask about the historical aspects." Chen Ke prayed silently. He glanced at his watch, it was time. Chen Ke stepped onto the podium under everyone's gaze. "Hello everyone, today I will be talking about the development of productive forces and the changes in production relations."

  The 56th