Nineteen, Assassination

  Cai Yuanpei came to find Lin Xue, saying that more than a dozen students from the Patriotic Study Society under his leadership were arrested by the concession police station, and asked Lin Xue to help resolve the relationship and rescue them.

  Lin Xue was introduced to Zhang Yuanji and Cai Yuanpei, due to the 1902 Nanyang Public School incident, where students dissatisfied with the school administration dropped out. As a teacher at the school, Cai Yuanpei sided with the students and left Nanyang Public School with the dropouts to establish the Patriotic Society.

  Due to financial difficulties, Cai Yuanpei went around soliciting donations through acquaintances, and Lin Xue was introduced to this later famous scholar and educator at that time. Out of respect for the "Father of Peking University", Lin Xue made a large donation to the Patriotic Study Society.

  The Patriotic School, due to its free academic style and the instigation of people like Wu Zhihui who had returned from Japan, gradually became the country's first "Revolutionary M" group. These people used the Subao newspaper as their base, constantly advocating for "anti-Manchu revolution". Zhang Taiyan openly insulted Emperor Guangxu as a "clown" in his article "Refuting Kang Youwei's Revolutionary Book", promoting the idea that "without revolution, it is impossible to have revolution". Zou Rong even advocated for "killing all Manchus before stopping" in his book "Revolutionary Army". Zhang Shizhao, who had dropped out of the Nanyang Public School, wrote in a newspaper article that revolution was equivalent to "killing people-ism".

  As a result, the Subao was banned. Because the concession authorities had been informed in advance, the main culprits of the Subao case either hid or fled to Japan, and only Zhang Taiyan and Zou Rong were caught. The Qing government wanted to extradite Zhang Taiyan and Zou Rong for trial, and had already sentenced them to "beheading", but the concession authorities did not allow it.

  The Subao Case finally became a rather peculiar and representative case in the late Qing history, which was a special lawsuit jointly tried by the "Joint Tribunal" of Chinese and foreign joint trial institutions set up in the concession with the government as the plaintiff and the nationals as the defendant.

  Tai Yan and Zou Rong were sentenced to three years and two years imprisonment respectively for libel, after a trial that lasted ten months. Through this case, the people of China came to understand what freedom of speech and thought meant.

  The trial of the Subao case thoroughly exposed the weakness of the Qing court, and Zhang Taiyan and Zou Rong became "heroes" in people's minds. From then on, whether or not they understood "revolution", everyone was eager to discuss it, and even if they didn't understand it, they wouldn't be beheaded for it. As Mr. Lu Xun wrote, "even Ah Q wants to compete with the fake foreign devils for the qualifications of revolution".

  This incident stripped away the last fig leaf of the Qing imperial court.

  After the Subao Case, Cai Yuanpei fled to Qingdao, and the Patriotic Society was forced to close. The students of the Patriotic Society were divided into four groups: one group entered Lin Kui's Shanghai Merchant Ship School, another went to study in Japan, and some entered Ma Xiangbo's Aurora University. Later, due to the Catholic Church wanting to turn Aurora University into a church school, the students chose to drop out and reorganize Fudan Public School with Ma Xiangbo. For this famous university in later generations, Lin Kui would not give up this excellent opportunity for fame and fortune. He provided the venue and part of the funds, and Fudan Public School opened at Yangshupu's original Chen Yiru tobacco seed farm. Lin Kui and Zhang Jian became the main investors of Fudan Public School.

  The last batch of people from Aiguo School moved to Yuqingli in the Public Concession and continued to make revolution.

  Members of the "Yokohama Assassination Group" who returned from Japan, such as Yang Duosheng, Su Peng and He Haizou, also moved to Shanghai. They joined forces with them to form a larger "Shanghai Assassination Group".

  Cai Yuanpei returned to Shanghai after hiding in Qingdao for several months. This former Qing dynasty official had now become a thoroughgoing "revolutionary". Under his instigation, Zhang Ji, Wang Xiaoxu, Sun Yurun, Liu Shipei, Zhang Shizhao, Zhong Guanguang and Yu Ziyi, who were originally members of the Patriotic Study Society, all joined the assassination team. Cai Yuanpei also gave the assassination team a more euphemistic name - the Patriotic Mutual Aid Society. Cai Yuanpei became the leader of the assassination team.

  The assassination team was formed. Yang Du, Zhang Ji, He Haizou, Zhou Laisu and others went to Beijing, preparing to do something earth-shaking: assassinate Empress Dowager Cixi.

  Unfortunately, this group of people stayed in Beijing for half a year but didn't even catch a glimpse of Cixi's shadow. The Empress Dowager was already reclusive and rarely went out, and even when she did, it was with a large retinue of guards and attendants, leaving no room for ordinary people to get close. With their funds running low, the group had no choice but to pack up and return to Shanghai.

  Then the assassination group also plotted to assassinate the newly appointed military minister in Jiangning, and Tieliang, who was inspecting the north for the Beiyang New Army, also returned without success.

  This time, they targeted Wang Zhi-chun, the former governor of Guangxi who was living in a concession in Shanghai.

  Wang Zhi Chun was called the number one traitor at that time. In order to suppress the Guangxi civil unrest, he did not hesitate to introduce French troops into Gui and sold all the railway rights and mining rights in Guangxi to France. Wang Zhi Chun was removed from his post as Governor of Guangxi due to protests from the people, but he still refused to give up.

  The mastermind behind the "Su Bao" case was also Wang Zhi-chun.

  On the evening of November 19, 1904, at the Golden Valley Restaurant in downtown Shanghai, which was bustling and noisy as usual, a well-dressed fat man suddenly rushed down from the second floor with his servants in green robes, covering his head and fleeing.

  A group of people escaped from the restaurant's entrance.

  "Thief, where are you going!" Suddenly, a sturdy man rushed out from among the pedestrians in front of the door, grabbed the fleeing fat man's horse cloak with one hand, and pressed the muzzle of his gun against the fat man's head. The attendants behind were stunned, and the fat man's legs went soft, as if he was about to kneel down and beg for mercy.

  "Traitor to the country! I now represent 400 million Chinese people in executing you by firing squad, go die!" The strong man shouted loudly and then pulled the trigger of the gun.

  The pedestrians on the street in front of the Golden Valley Fragrance Gate were shocked to see this scene, and some people recognized the fat man and couldn't help but shout: Isn't that Wang Zhi-chun, the national traitor? He should be killed...

  Ah!

  The gunshot didn't go off.

  Misfire? The good fellow who fired the shot realized that something was wrong, pulled back his left hand holding Wang Zhi-chun to reload the gun, and then pulled the trigger again, but still no response!

  King Zhichun, who had closed his eyes and waited for death, finally came to his senses, broke free from the good man's control, and rushed towards his own carriage. "Save me!" King Zhichun shouted loudly as he crawled under the carriage.

  Wang Zichun's men also reacted and rushed up, pinning the good fellow to the ground, and the broken gun was also taken away.

  A large number of Indian sepoys arrived upon hearing the news, their whistles sounding in unison.

  The good fellow was taken to the police station by the patrolmen, who took Wang Zichun and his entourage to Jinguxiang to identify the accomplices of the assassin. The other members of the assassination team mixed in with the crowd and escaped after abandoning their guns.

  Although the assassination failed, it set a precedent for the revolutionary party's assassinations: traitors and national thieves, everyone can kill them!

  The good fellow who held that broken gun and pointed it at Wang Zhi-chun was called Wan Fu-hua, and for the time being he became a hero whom people praised.

  Zhang Shaozeng is jumping into the net himself.

  Wan Fuhua was arrested, he went to the police station to visit. As for the General Police Station on Sima Road in the Public Concession, he was quite familiar with it. At the time of the "Subao" case, he often visited Zhang Taiyan and Zou Rong who were detained inside.

  But he never thought this time would be different from last time.

  At the time of the "Su Bao" case, the British Chief Inspector considered the anti-Qing speeches and propaganda of the Patriotic School to be lawful acts, and citizens' speech should be protected. At that time, the police station could be said to have turned a blind eye to these revolutionary parties. Even if you walked right in front of them, they would pretend not to see you.

  Zhang Shizhao thought this time would be the same as last time.

  But this time it's really different.

  Wan Fu Hua is holding a sharp object and has committed murder with a weapon, this is a serious criminal case.

  Wan Fu Hua is a good fellow, claiming that the assassination of Wang Zhi Chun was entirely out of personal indignation, and he does not acknowledge any accomplices as accused by Wang Zhi Chun. He will say nothing more.

  The police station was stuck because Wan Fu Hua wouldn't speak, and they had no leads to follow, but Wang Zhi Chun pointed out that there were still accomplices, and they were worried.

  Zhang Shizhao was delivered right to his doorstep early in the morning.

  The police immediately detained Zhang Shizhao and casually asked him where he lived, to which Zhang replied that he lived at No. 8 Qingyu Hutong.

  Zhang Shaojie's residence secretly stored thousands of copies of Zhang Taiyan and Zou Rong's "Revolutionary Army" and Chen Tianhua's newly printed "Meng Huitou" and "Jingshi Zhong", he had his own bitter intentions, but revealed the headquarters of the assassination team.

  According to Zhang Shiyao's answer, Bao Tou sent five people including Hua Bao and Hong Tou A San to Yu Qing Li for investigation.

  Then all the members of the assassination team living in Yuqingli, except for Yang Duosheng who ran out, were caught, including Huang Xing, the leader of the Huaxinghui who had just fled from Hunan.

  Fortunately, the concession authorities and Qing officials did not communicate much. Although Wang Zhi-chun reported these captured revolutionaries to Shanghai Daotai Yuan Shu-xun, Yuan also negotiated with the concession authorities for their extradition. Fortunately, these party members learned from the "Subao" case and mostly used pseudonyms.

  The concession authorities did not find any previous convictions of these people, so Yuan Shuxun also didn't take it to heart.

  Yang Dusheng, who had escaped, went to find Cai Yuanpei to devise a plan to rescue his companions.

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