Chapter 49

  Getting up in the morning without breakfast, the little dinner last night had been digested. Chen Ke felt his stomach growling. When visiting someone else's home, one has to follow the host's etiquette. Pang Zi didn't say a word, and Chen Ke felt that they would have to starve first. In this day and age, it's not like there are supermarkets and convenience stores everywhere. If you dare to go out and buy something to eat, the news will likely reach Pang Zi's ears soon. It's called "guest from master convenient", guests must consider the host's face. Chen Ke came to make friends, not to settle a feud. What's the point of making Pang Zi lose face?

  Chen Ke began to reflect on himself, why he had come to visit with empty hands. He thought of Yan Fu's visits, who always brought some gifts. Chen Ke felt that he was really wrong. If he had brought a lot of food as gifts, Peng Zhi would not have treated him so poorly. Thinking about it now, past events can't be relived. Chen Ke secretly observed Chen Tianhua and saw that he was calm and composed, which put his mind at ease.

  "Xīng tái, zánmen jīn tiān zàn qiě bù chū mén le ba."

  Translation: "Starry sky, let's just not go out today, okay?"

  Chen Tianhua didn't see Chen Ke's hesitation, and curiously asked: "Why? Didn't Wen Qing say he was going to conduct a social survey?"

  Chen Ke expressed his concerns to Chen Tianhua, and since Pang Zi didn't make a sound, it wasn't suitable to rush out the door either. This worry was quite reasonable, as Pang Zi's hospitality was lacking, and now they couldn't afford to stir up any conflict. Chen Tianhua shared the same opinion, so the two of them simply stayed inside the house talking, without even leaving the side room.

  It's not convenient to talk about revolutionary matters, so the topic turned to personal issues. Chen Ke himself didn't dare to mention his own family background, and he couldn't ask about Chen Tianhua's either. The remaining topics were limited, and as they chatted, everyone started discussing marriage. Chen Ke was 25 years old this year, while Chen Tianhua and Qiu Jin were the same age, both turning 30 today, making them "older" than Chen Ke by five years. When asked why Chen Tianhua hadn't gotten married, the answer was very traditional: "The Xiongnu have not been destroyed, how can one establish a family?"

  Chen Tianhua thought Chen Ke was probably the same as himself, so he casually asked Chen Ke a question. Chen Ke replied with another orthodox answer: "Haven't had time to find an old lady yet."

  "Is there no place for intellectuals in an intellectual's home?"

  "I've been reading books all along, and at home no one has the heart to bother me with such things. Originally it was said that I should wait until I finish my studies before getting married, but now I've run out of the house."

  "Who would have thought it was so complicated." Chen Tianhua sighed, "But I don't know what kind of girl Wen Qing likes?"

  "First, it can't be a small foot. Second, I want to find someone who is knowledgeable and courteous. When I'm at home, my mother always scolds me, saying that I behave like a savage. Having a virtuous wife would at least provide someone to discuss these issues with. Third, the prettier the better." Chen Ke finished speaking and burst out laughing. After just two laughs, he was afraid of disturbing Pang Zi, so he immediately swallowed his laughter back down.

  "This time in Beijing, Wen Qing can look for a suitable one." Chen Tianhua said jokingly.

  "Anyway. Heaven knows what kind of virtues the young ladies from official families are educated to have. If there's anyone who thinks they're superior, I absolutely don't want them. But if Xing Tai finds someone suitable, I'll definitely give my full support."

  Chen Tianhua just smiled awkwardly and didn't answer whether he was willing or not.

  Both of them were revolutionaries, and even in casual conversations, they would naturally steer the topic back to their line of work.

  "I met Liang Qichao in Japan, and at that time I heard him talk about reform, which made me feel deeply. At the time of the Russo-Japanese War, the Qing government was unable to restrain the warring parties and had to declare "neutrality". In January 1905, a Japanese newspaper published an article predicting that China would soon be partitioned, which caused a stir among Chinese students in Japan. I wrote "A Petition for National Salvation", demanding that the Qing government implement constitutionalism and save the country from subjugation. It was necessary to carry out reforms, determine the national policy early, grant autonomy to localities, and give people freedom of speech, writing, assembly, and association. At the same time, citizens should assume the obligations of military service, paying taxes, public debt, and serving as government advisors."

  "Oh, I haven't had a chance to take a look at this masterpiece yet. Will check it out when I have time."

  "Don't laugh at me, young intellectuals. At that time, I was still ignorant. It wasn't until I wrote this book with the young intellectuals that I suddenly realized my past mistakes. Everything I did back then was wrong. However, at the time, I was prepared to risk my life and go to Beijing to present a petition. If it weren't for the Japanese comrades' repeated advice, I'm afraid I would have gone."

  Chen Ke was unaware of such a thing, and Chen Tianhua, the author of "The Mighty Head" and "The Warning Bell", who had led the great revolution to overthrow the Qing dynasty, actually went to the Forbidden City in Beijing to kneel three times and knock his head nine times on the ground, begging the Qing emperor to grant constitutionalism. This undoubtedly gave a shot of stimulant to the dying Qing government, which would inevitably cause great harm to the revolutionary cause. It was only natural that Japanese comrades tried their best to stop him.

  "After we have established our base area, we will set up our own government. The matter of saving the country is no longer a concern for the Manchu Qing." Chen Ke said with a smile.

  Seeing Chen Ke's confident expression, Chen Tianhua showed a hesitant look. After a moment, he finally asked, "Wen Qing, when comrades talk about you in private, many people say that you must be the son of a high-ranking official. Otherwise, it would be impossible to have such a broad perspective and see things from a global point of view."

  Chen Tianhua knew that Chen Ke never talked about himself, so he immediately changed the subject. "Wen Qing, can China be saved? I used to talk about Poland's demise and India's demise, but now I think China has the same weaknesses as those two countries. Can you teach me something about this?"

  "Nationhood is just nonsense." Chen Ke's reply was blunt, "We're talking about the materialistic view of history, which says that productive forces determine social relations. Take this nonsense about Chinese people being like a tray of loose sand, for example. In an agricultural country like China, look at the countryside - everyone spends their whole lives within a hundred miles or so, and if they don't have any relatives outside of that area, who are they going to go visit? With China being so big, it looks like a tray of loose sand. But once we start industrializing, with large-scale factories employing thousands of people and cities with populations in the tens of millions, then there will be a foundation for changes in customs. And when the railway network is built and people have money, they can travel around and visit friends from all over - that's when customs will really change. So talk about nationhood is just nonsense. The Chinese people are a great people, because even an illiterate person knows that we need to establish a good moral order and have a strong government. With such a people, China will never perish. Our current gap is the difference between an agricultural country and an industrialized one - it has nothing to do with nationhood."

  Having heard Chen Ke's words, Chen Tianhua nodded repeatedly, "Wen Qing, this statement is indeed very ingenious. It would be better to write it down."

  The proposal was quite good, and the two of them had nothing else to do, so Chen Ke simply sat cross-legged on the kang, discussing with Chen Tianhua while writing this article. As they wrote, it was already noon. Pang Zi called out in the courtyard, "Two Mr. Chens, let's go out for lunch."

  With Pang Zi leading the way, and many people having seen Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua yesterday, the onlookers' situation naturally improved a lot. At least the children didn't surround them like they did yesterday. There was a household at the east end of the village with a fairly large courtyard. Yesterday before going to take a bath, Chen Ke had also seen it, but he didn't expect that this place would actually be a restaurant. Pang Zi brought two people in and invited them to start eating. This place didn't have any menu either. When the boss came over, Chen Ke first gave him two silver dollars, "Settle the bill after we finish eating."

  Pang Ziwu never thought Chen Ke would do such a thing, and although he said a few polite words, he didn't stop him. It was the owner of the restaurant who looked rather embarrassed, which made Chen Ke feel very uneasy. He tried to probe by taking out a few silver dollars and handing them to the owner, whose face suddenly turned much better, but still showed no intention of leaving. Chen Ke guessed that Pang Ziwu must have owed a lot of money for food here, so he looked at the owner's face again and handed over five more silver dollars, and only then did the owner leave happily to prepare wine and dishes.

  "This won't do, this won't do. Mr. Chen is too polite. I'm getting embarrassed now." Pang Zi finally managed to get a genuine smile from Chen Ke.

  "It's fine if Second Brother Pan invites him. We're all brothers, what's there to be embarrassed about?"

  As they spoke, dishes of meat and wine were brought up one after another. Pang Liu enthusiastically poured wine for everyone and served the dishes, showing a heroic spirit typical of people from the jianghu.

  Steaming hot smoked intestines were served on the dinner table, the aroma was overwhelming. Chen Ke took a bite, the main ingredients of the smoked intestines were five-flower pork and eggs, as well as other spices. The taste was rich but not greasy, paired with the village-brewed white wine, it was truly wonderful.

  Chen Ke greatly praised the deliciousness of the smoked intestines, and Pang Zi laughed and said: "I have a paternal uncle who sells large pancake rolls with smoked vegetables, that's what's really delicious."

  "I've had a lot of Shandong-style rolled pancakes, how does the way they're made here differ from Shandong?" Chen Ke was quite interested in this.

  Pang Zi traveled extensively, and Chen Ke was also well-traveled. Chen Tianhua had also been to many places both domestically and internationally. When they talked about the local delicacies, they found a common interest. With a sip of wine and a bite of meat, their conversation became more lively as they listed all the delicious foods they had tried, from China to Japan. Even the owner of the restaurant couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "I didn't know there were so many delicious foods out there!"

  The wine is enough and the rice is full, the boss wants to settle the bill. Chen Ke took advantage of some drunkenness and said with a drunk tone: "Hang it here first, let's talk about it next time." After finishing, he got up and pulled Pang Zi and Chen Tianhua out of the door.

  Everyone returned to Pang's house and immediately became much closer. Still the same bowls with a crack, still plain water. Everyone started chatting casually. After some idle chatter, Pang asked: "Mr. Chen, Wu said you are a revolutionary party member. Are you really going to rebel?"

  "Of course we must rebel. If we don't rebel, what kind of revolutionary party are we?"

  "Both Mr. Chens are overseas students, you won't believe in foreign religions, will you?" This question actually bothered Pang Di quite a bit.

  "We don't believe in Christianity at all. If we succeed in our rebellion, we will definitely eliminate Christianity from China."

  "We must eradicate them thoroughly, all those who believe in the foreign religion must be killed. We must make sure they die a miserable death!" Pang Ze gritted his teeth and responded.

  Chen Ke didn't mean to kill, but seeing Pang Ze's hatred, he didn't dare say more and changed the subject. "Brother Pang, I'm preparing for a revolution, determined to overthrow the Qing government. So I need to prepare many things, in many places. Don't know if Brother Pang will join in the chaos, and how far you'll take it?"

  "This..." Pang Zi refused to speak.

  "Brother Pang, I won't ask how far you can stir up trouble, that's your family's secret and I shouldn't pry. But I want to tell you how I plan to stir up trouble, Brother Pang, help me out and give me some advice?"

  After hearing Chen Ke's words, Pang Zi's face had already sunk down.

  "I want to stir up trouble locally, no more than killing officials and rebelling, or making the local officials become a mere decoration. Then I need to have a group of iron-hearted brothers who follow me. With this group of brothers, I also need to make sure they eat their fill," Chen Ke said. "Suppose we have 200 such brothers, each eating one kilogram of grain per day. In a year of 365 days, that's 73,000 kilograms of grain. Where does all this grain come from? Brother Pang, can our land in Hebei produce 400 kilograms of wheat per mu?"

  Pang Zi listened to Chen Ke's detailed account of the numbers and felt a little guilty, "But there aren't that many."

  "Two hundred brothers follow me, and in a month it's half a tael of silver in expenses. Let me calculate this...in one year, 365 days...it would require 3,190 taels of silver. Brother Pang, it's not easy to come up with this kind of money." Chen Ke said.

  "It's enough to hit a few big households." Pang Zi was young after all, and Chen Ke took the lead, he couldn't help but follow along.

  "Everyone is from the same village, you've hit a big shot, who knows if there's someone among your brothers who has a connection with the big shots. If someone speaks up for them, will you still hit or not?" Chen Ke asked.

  "What?" Pang Zi felt that he indeed had not considered this matter before.

  "If it's just a small disturbance, then there's nothing to worry about. But if you want to make a big fuss and keep making trouble for a long time, you can't do that without thinking things through carefully." Chen Ke concluded.

  "What's the big fuss, what's the small fuss?" Pang Zi was thoroughly interested.

  Looking at Pang Ze's excited expression, Chen Ke said: "Make a big fuss, you first find some brothers, get a few guns, surround the government office, and say you want to rebel. The government will definitely come out to persuade everyone. Then the brothers don't agree yet. The government will finally ask, what do you want after all? At this time, Brother Pang, you step forward and say that we want to set up a security bureau. The government will definitely agree."

  "Good!" Pang Zi slapped the table.

  Then Pang brothers started to run a transport company, transporting goods at the train station. It was also a profitable business. After making some money, in the countryside, Pang brothers didn't want to be tyrants, they reduced rent and interest for the common people. In the village, if you had a wedding or funeral, borrowing some money could lead to family ruin. But Pang brothers had a transport company, so they reduced rent and interest for the villagers and landlords. They didn't dare not reduce it. Relying on the villagers, each household gave them some money and grain, accumulating a lot, several tens of thousands of kilograms of grain was nothing.

  "Great!" Pang Zi's eyes gleamed with excitement, "Mr. Chen is indeed a great talker."

  Chen Ke smiled and said, "In that case, I think if Brother Pang makes a big fuss, in the end it will still be a revolution."

  As soon as Chen Ke mentioned revolution, Pang Zi immediately lost interest. He asked: "What's the point of this small disturbance?"

  "Go ahead and cause trouble, I'll be frank with you, Brother Pang. You can go ahead and cause all the trouble you want. In any case, once you start causing trouble, the government will send people to arrest and kill you and your brother. The outcome is definitely death. So whatever trouble you cause, it's all the same." Chen Ke said bluntly.

  After hearing Chen Ke's words, Pang Zi slapped the table and stood up, "Your mother!"

  They parted on bad terms, with Pang Zi storming off in a huff. Chen Ke didn't get angry and after finishing the water in his bowl, he returned to the study room with Chen Tianhua to continue writing that morning's article. In the late afternoon, the two of them went out for a bath just like they did yesterday.

  On a northern autumn evening, the sky is filled with glittering stars. Without air pollution, the starry sky seems to be within reach. The rustling of insects in the grass and the sound of wind blowing through the jujube tree forest surrounding the village are comfortable and make one feel drowsy.

  Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua walked slowly on the ridge of the field outside the village after taking a bath. It was inconvenient to talk inside the house. Chen Tianhua saw that there were no people around, so he said: "Wen Qing, why don't you start something with Brother Pang here?"

  Chen Ke knew that Chen Tianhua was eager to rise up and overthrow the Qing dynasty immediately, but he didn't directly express Chen Tianhua's idea. Instead, he praised, "Xing Tai asked a good question. Why do you mention rebellion instead of revolution?"

  "After hearing what the literati said about revolution, I don't dare to speak of revolution lightly now."

  "Pang brothers, even if they were to start something now, it's not a revolution. Moreover, whether the Pang brothers really want to start something is still uncertain, why should I get involved?" Chen Ke's voice was calm, as if discussing what to eat for dinner.

  Chen Tianhua's voice was slightly excited, "Wen Qing, are you going to let this opportunity slip away? At least go and preach some revolutionary principles to Brother Pang!"

  "What's revolutionary principle? Haha." Chen Ke smiled, "I've already said that today. Brother Pang can't listen, and I have no way to do it,"

  "Already said?" Chen Tianhua found it somewhat strange.

  "A revolution is about having money, having people, and mobilizing the masses. What we discussed among ourselves was not a revolution, but merely revolutionary theory."

  "The literati thought that Brother Pong couldn't understand revolutionary theory?" Chen Tianhua felt he somewhat understood Chen Ke's meaning.

  "Pang brothers are not deaf to revolutionary theories, but they can't listen to them. In Pang brothers' view, rebellion is just opposing the government. This is indeed correct, but how to oppose and what to do, Pang brothers don't know themselves now. I suggested that he join the people in demanding rent reduction and interest rate reduction, but Pang brothers refused to listen. I also have no way." Chen Ke said calmly.

  Chen Tianhua stopped talking, and the two of them walked for a while longer. Chen Tianhua finally broke the silence, "Wen Qing, can you tell me, if Peng brother does what you said, what will he encounter?"

  "The landlords will collectively oppose him." Chen Ke replied without hesitation, "Tianhua, today's world is a world of profiteers. The Qing government holds power, collects taxes and customs, and relies on this to make a living. Officials hold the power of local authorities, so-called corrupt officials, are just people who use their power to profit. Landlords rely on land rent to make a living. Rich people lend money at interest. compradors rely on controlling some domestic sales channels to make a living. Educated people also rely on monopolizing knowledge to make a living. The whole of China, the Qing government, officials, landlords, rich people, and educated people are all in cahoots with each other, oppressing the common people together. The honest and hardworking common people can't even make ends meet."

  Having heard Chen Ke's words, Chen Tianhua replied dejectedly: "The common people are not easy to govern."

  "When it is not just, the people cry out. If the whole country were at peace, who would follow you in revolution? The common folk want to live, and they can only do so through revolution. The tinder for this revolution has long existed among the people. Our People's Party is merely a spark. A single spark can start a prairie fire. It depends on where the spark falls. In the end, how will you mobilize the people? What is the ultimate goal of this revolution?"

  "Is this the difference between the people's revolution and the propertied class revolution that the literati talk about?" Chen Tianhua sighed.

  "Pang brothers are rebels, but he is not a revolutionary now. We have so many things to do, it's impossible to spend so much energy to let him join the party. So what I said today may sound unpleasant, but there's no other way. Let's just do our best."

  Chen Tianhua thought over what Chen Ke had said from start to finish, and only then nodded his head, "It can't be helped."

  No. 49