Chapter 71

  It is said that a scholar-turned-rebel will not succeed in three years. What if the scholar becomes an official instead?

  Before going north, Chen Ke believed that among the officials in the late Qing dynasty, there must be a group of people who were desperate for the imperial court and would also seek a way to save China. Chen Ke hoped to meet these people before he went north. As a result, he really met them. With Shang Yuan and the people introduced by Shang Yuan as the core, Chen Ke established the Beijing Party Group.

  Chen Ke didn't trust Shang Yuan so quickly because he believed in his own "kingly aura". Nor was it because Chen Ke believed that revolutionary theories could easily persuade the intellectuals of this era. At first, Chen Ke thought Shang Yuan was just a "revolutionary fanboy", one of those who only shouted revolution with their mouths. So he entrusted the task of writing documents to Shang Yuan. Unexpectedly, when registering and compiling the list of factories, Shang Yuan included himself in the list. When assigning tasks for repairing furnaces, Shang Yuan also followed his own team to repair furnaces.

  Chen Ke was greatly surprised by this.

  When I went to ask Shang Yuan, Shang Juren just replied faintly: "A gentleman is not a tool." Confucius believed that a gentleman should not limit himself to a certain fixed field. Chen Kejia was also a Confucianist, and his family's teachings repeatedly emphasized that if one learns knowledge and then despises so-called "low-level work", it means that you have read books in vain.

  Not only that, in the construction of revolutionary theory, Shangyuan has shown amazing talent. For Chairman Mao's "wholeheartedly serving the people", Shangyuan has a very deep understanding. Chen Ke has always believed that the core of socialism is to develop productive forces, and "wholeheartedly serving the people" is about establishing a social system, which aims to provide better job opportunities for the people. If you put it more bluntly, it's the party's old slogan of "New Democracy".

  Shangyuan has an astonishing understanding of this theory, as well as sufficient planning ability on paper. Therefore, the chairman of this meeting is not Chen Ke, but Shangyuan.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, this meeting mainly discusses two things. First, the social demand for honeycomb coal. Second, looking at the superiority of the socialist system through honeycomb coal. Now let Wen Qing speak." Shang Yuan's attitude was natural, his tone calm, and he quickly brought the meeting atmosphere into normal track.

  Chen Ke's narrative is not long, and the success of beehive coal can be attributed to nothing more than industrialized production, which reduced living costs and naturally led to success. This logic does not need further elaboration. The superiority of the socialist system lies in "each contributing according to their ability, and receiving according to their labor", through the powerful state apparatus eliminating the "exploiting" class, reducing social transaction costs. Through national investment in state-owned enterprises to complete control over core industries and social services. The state itself should support these industries.

  Su Wuming smiled and said: "This kind of country is naturally good, but this government should not be the Qing dynasty, nor should it be a monarchical society."

  The comrades present nodded in agreement.

  "The state is an instrument of class rule. We learn to analyze society and understand that the essence of class struggle is grasping it firmly. From the perspective of struggle, all human societies operate through various contradictions." Chen Ke spoke fluently in Shanghai, but the theoretical level of those comrades was really limited. Moreover, it must be said that Chen Ke himself was not from a sociology research background, and his own theoretical level at that time was also very limited. Over the past few months, Chen Ke's social theory level has improved significantly, and his lectures have become more fluent.

  "This is the true principle of the world. We study law in order to summarize various articles from all sorts of contradictions." The speaker was Xu Dian. Xu Dian was a friend of Mao Yibo, who lived far away, and had studied law at Tokyo University in Japan in 1901. He returned home in 1905, originally a constitutionalist, but after listening to lectures for two days, he became a socialist.

  Mao Yibo is a Zhejiang native who caught the last train of young children studying abroad in the United States. After returning, he first worked at the Kaiyuan Coal Mine, but his personality was more radical and eventually couldn't get along with others at the coal mine, so he returned to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to start a school. However, his attempts at starting a school ended in repeated failures, leaving him deeply in debt and disillusioned with the Qing government's system, becoming an old rebel. In recent years, as the trend of demanding constitutionalism emerged, Mao Yibo became enthusiastic again and, unable to stay in Jiangsu and Zhejiang any longer, ran to Beijing to promote constitutionalism. Regarding Xu Tie's speech, Mao Yibo was not very supportive: "As Wen Qing said last time, revolutionaries must have a heart of benevolence. If everything is approached with a fighting spirit, it will only stir up unnecessary trouble. Revolution is meant to solve problems, not create them."

  Everyone was discussing in a lively manner, and Xie Mingxian, who was listening on the side, couldn't help but sigh. These people were indeed scholars, and their conversation only revolved around revolution, never mentioning the Qing dynasty. However, Xie Mingxian knew that these people had already completely abandoned the Qing dynasty. Xie Mingxian did not know Xu Xilin, nor was he aware of Xu Xilin's deep confusion towards Chen Qiu's attitude towards the Qing dynasty back then: "Chen Qiu regarded the Qing dynasty as a grave and withered bone." If Xie Mingxian could have discussed this issue with Xu Xilin, they would have certainly had a deep understanding of each other. All the participants who accepted Chen Qiu's theory now held the same attitude towards the Qing dynasty.

  The host chairman added: "Does anyone have any further questions on this matter?"

  Everyone stopped talking, and no one wanted to raise any new questions. Shang Yuan looked at the crowd and saw that there were no objections, so he said: "The next question is what kind of difficulties will the beehive coal factory encounter in its continued development, and where will these difficulties come from?"

  Xie Mingxian attended several meetings of the Beijing Party Small Group and has roughly summarized the hosting process of these meetings.

  1. To expound on the superiority of socialism. In this meeting, it's about how new factories are advanced.

  2. Describe the backwardness and destructiveness of current politics. This is the destructive policy of the imperial court towards new factories that has been proposed for a long time.

  3. If a base is established, how to specifically solve these problems. This part of the content is in the future base, that is, the distant county, how to build a new social system.

  The trilogy is cyclical, repeatedly educating and guiding. The people present are all from the middle class of society, still far away from being the county magistrate in the future, who will take office in Anhui in 1906. So the purpose of this meeting is nothing more than to tell everyone that we have a space where we can fully exert our abilities. However, it's not feasible to do it according to the old political system, nor is it feasible to do it according to Sun Yat-sen's party slogans. A real revolution must be carried out.

  It has to be said that this educational approach is very effective, regardless of whether others believe in Chen Ke's theory or not, Xie Mingxian believes it anyway. Chen Ke has always emphasized, "Class struggle, once grasped, becomes crystal clear." In today's world, from the largest countries to the smallest families, everything is ruled by various big and small tyrants according to existing traditional patterns. A revolution that penetrates to the very bottom of society must be carried out; a revolution that penetrates into the souls of the common people must be carried out. After thoroughly shattering China's old order, it can be reorganized according to new patterns.

  Xie Mingxian did not intend to negate Chen Ke's argument, as he had a deep personal feeling about it. Xie Mingxian was born into a middle-class landlord family in Hubei, and his mother was a concubine. From a young age, Xie Mingxian understood that he had to "tuck his tail" and be humble. He had to hide his dissatisfaction with his cold and brutal father, his dissatisfaction with his father's first wife, and his dissatisfaction with his several half-brothers born to the first wife. They looked down on him and thought he was not worthy of inheriting any family wealth or resources.

  Xie Mingxian was very intelligent, and from a young age, he was often scolded by the first wife for no reason and bullied by her sons. The lessons he learned early in life left a deep impression on him. After starting private school, Xie Mingxian showed great talent in reading and excelled in several exams, earning praise from his teacher.

  When the teacher visited Xie Mingxian's home, he praised Xie Mingxian to his father, who smiled at his son for the first time and said, "Well done."

  Then the nightmare began, Xie Mingxian's mother was repeatedly bullied, beaten and scolded by her stepmother. And Xie Mingxian himself suffered a series of planned actions from his "brothers". His books were stolen, his pen was broken, and his notebook was torn to pieces. Moreover, several brothers joined forces to beat Xie Mingxian. When Xie Mingxian returned home with injuries all over his body, the brother who had run back home ahead of him had already accused Xie Mingxian of wrongdoing in front of their father. His father did not uphold justice, but instead made Xie Mingxian kneel down as punishment. As Xie Mingxian's mother tearfully pleaded with her husband, Xie Mingxian heard his father calmly and coldly say: "Kneeling can kill him, this is for his own good."

  Xie Mingxian was not stupid, he knew that this was his father's good intentions. If his father had presided over justice, Xie Mingxian estimated that he would have fallen into endless trouble. His father's legitimate wife would never let go of Xie Mingxian and his mother, and his two younger sisters would also be implicated.

  From then on, Xie Mingxian never showed off his abilities again. On the surface, it seemed that he was just mediocre in his studies. Moreover, his father had been cold to Xie Mingxian and his mother for a long time, which finally calmed down this family storm. It wasn't until Xie Mingxian passed the imperial examination and became a "Xiucai" in 1904 that he truly wouldn't be beaten anymore. As long as it wasn't a decision made by the elder of the family, even his older brothers couldn't beat Xie Mingxian who had "gongming" (merit and fame).

  From these years of experience, Xie Mingxian understood two things. Firstly, the Confucian theory of "kinship" is just a facade. Even among husbands and wives, fathers and sons, brothers, the Xie family had always exploited their tenant farmers mercilessly. Secondly, it was the state that was truly reliable. Only by getting on the state's big ship could an individual gain power.

  So Xie Mingxian was originally going to work hard to become a jinshi, but the abolition of the imperial examination system completely ended Xie Mingxian's dreams. He could no longer climb higher and thoroughly rescue his mother. If he had passed the exam to become a jinshi, Xie Mingxian would have had the opportunity to become an official and then bring his mother with him when he took office. But this opportunity was lost forever. Moreover, the fact that Xie Mingxian had passed the exam to become a xiucai made him a thorn in the side of several of his brothers, who were almost at each other's throats over dividing up the family property as their father entered old age. If Xie Mingxian continued to stay at home, he would have no way out. Xie Mingxian had no choice but to leave home alone and leave his mother behind. He did not go to Changsha; in the countryside, a xiucai like Xie Mingxian was still considered respectable. But in Changsha, he definitely would not have any opportunities. What Xie Mingxian needed was to earn money and bring his mother out. So he went to Shanghai, a place completely unfamiliar to him.

  Shanghai appears to be prosperous, but it's a world dominated by foreigners and compradors. As a scholar, he has no chance to make a name for himself. If not for the recruitment poster posted by Chen Ke that he happened to see... Xie Mingxian often thinks about this and feels a lingering fear.

  This world needs a revolution, he has seen for over twenty years, everywhere is unfair, everywhere is intense class struggle. Even in his own village of Xie Jia, when they were collecting rent, on average every three years someone would be driven to death. When the Xie family started lending at high interest rates, driving people to death became a yearly occurrence. In recent years, Hunan and Hubei have been hit by disasters one after another, and deaths are as common as meals. If the common people want to survive, they have no choice but to rise up in revolt. If Chen Ke leads his comrades in a call to action in the countryside, it will be like adding fuel to a fire. The common people, even if only for the sake of living to see tomorrow, will follow Chen Ke and his comrades.

  More importantly, even with such momentum, Chen Ke remained calm and composed. He was not organizing a group of bandits, but rather building a brand new "base area" to prepare for political and military struggles against all enemies.

  Watching the participants discuss seriously, Xie Mingxian's rough understanding of these people over the past few days is that although they come from different backgrounds than himself, they are all deeply aware that China's contradictions have reached a critical point. That's why this group of people gathered together to plan and do "that earth-shaking big thing". As for "revolution", Xie Mingxian doesn't object at all. With his current abilities, he wouldn't have any opportunities in today's society. It is said that wealth and honor are sought after in danger, and Xie Mingxian only has this one chance to seize it.

  Xie Mingxian was thinking about his own affairs and didn't pay much attention to the discussion in between. When he regained his focus, the part about the imperial court had already been finished. However, Qin Shou asked for permission to speak.

  "I have a question, how should this revolutionary legal system be explained?" Qin Shou asked. Qin Shou was from Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. In 1896, he entered the Jiangnan Naval Academy with eight silver dollars that his mother had raised through various means. Although the academy was already corrupt and had a bad reputation at the time, Qin Shou still studied hard. During the Boxer Rebellion, he received an order to join the Beiyang Navy, but the north was in chaos and the school was not even talking about discipline. Qin Shou returned home to visit his mother. His mother asked him, "Didn't you enter the naval academy to serve the country? Now is the time to make a contribution to the country, why do you want to be a deserter?" Qin Shou's face turned red with shame, and he immediately applied for funding to go north. The school teachers thought it was unbelievable that Qin Shou wanted to go north in such a situation, and they gave him some travel expenses with a mocking attitude. Qin Shou then went north.

  After arriving in Beijing, it happened that Guangxu and Cixi had already returned to the capital, and various government offices were already in a state of disrepair, needing personnel. The Beiyang Naval Academy was no longer there, so Qin Shou was recruited into the Ministry of Revenue as a small official. He saw that the imperial court suffered such great humiliation, not only did it not stir up enthusiasm, but instead became even more decadent. He had completely lost hope in the Qing dynasty.

  He was a distant friend of Shang, and they often discussed together what to do with China's future. After joining the Beijing Party Group, Qin Shou took charge of developing new members due to his extensive connections.

  Shang Yuan said: "Opposing Qing and restoring Ming is naturally out of the question. Democracy and republicanism are also impossible. What's your view, Wen Qing?"

  "There is no other, the people's heart is the heavenly mandate. The people's revolution itself is the legal system." Chen Ke said with a firm tone.

  Everyone discussed it and felt that it was only so. After discussing a few more issues, the time was almost up, and the party meeting was announced to be dismissed.

  After everyone left the conference room, Shang Yuan suddenly asked Chen Ke, who was looking at the meeting records, "Wen Qing, what do you think of our Beijing comrades?"

  "Comrades are good, but I don't want to take them to Anhui now. In my opinion, it's better for them to continue developing the northern party branch in Beijing. Brother Wangshan and Brother Qin can bring their factory comrades to Anhui."

  "I heard Wen Qing say before that there is another group of comrades in Shanghai. Is Wen Qing worried that something will happen between the two sides?"

  "It's a mule or a horse, take it out for a walk. I don't worry about this issue, anyway after going to the countryside to work, that is an extremely hard thing to do. Those who can't bear the hardship will naturally quit. But there are many heroes in the north, if everyone goes to Anhui and only a few people stay in the north, what can they do? In the future we must fight against the Qing dynasty, this intelligence work is crucial. So I think comrades staying in the north is equivalent to us having ears and eyes. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles."

  He stared at Chen Ke for a while, as if pondering Chen Ke's true intentions. After a moment, he nodded and said, "Wen Qing is right."

  Chen Ke was very happy to have the support of Shang Yuan, and this was not an excuse. These people's role in the base was really not necessarily greater than in Beijing. Moreover, Beijing is a place where talents gather, and burying some foreshadowing is the way to make a big article.

  "By the way, Wang Shan, you're taking office next March, and it's already December now. Aren't you going to go back home first?"

  Shang Yuan lightly shook his head, "No rush. My father is currently in Tianjin, I just need to go to Tianjin before he takes office. As for you, Wen Qing, I think it's better if you visit Yuan Wei Ting."

  Before Chen Ke's trip to the north, Yan Fu gave him three letters. Mr. Gu Hongming's letter must be delivered. This is clearly entrusted by Yan Fu. Another two letters, one of which was for Yuan Shikai. Yan Fu said that these two letters do not necessarily need to be delivered. He said that if Chen Ke encounters unsolvable troubles in Beijing, he can use these two letters. Chen Ke has always believed in "relying on the mountain will collapse, relying on the river will dry up." Therefore, he is unwilling to borrow other people's power. It is said that "no benefit, no early rise." If it is not beneficial to others, only a fool would help you. Yuan Shikai is absolutely not a fool.

  "It's not like it's urgent anyway," Chen Ke said.

  "I'd rather suggest you go and promote this beehive coal in the Northern Ocean Army's camp."

  "Hmm?" Chen Ke felt that Shang Yuan's words definitely had a deeper meaning.

  "In the current Beijing officialdom, there are not a few people who want to fight with Yuan Shikai. Since Wen Qing wants to make this factory go bankrupt and then take the friends in the factory south, it's just that simple operation may not be so fast." Shang Yuan said very cleverly.

  "I see." Chen Ke nodded in agreement, and his heart began to admire Shang Yu even more.

  The 71st