Chapter 23

In late July 1905, with the addition of Chen Tianhua, the number of party members increased significantly.

The day after Chen Tianhua joined, He Zudao appeared with a look of shame. He had recovered and came to thank Chen Ke for saving his life. Chen Ke understood the significance of "saving a life" in this era, especially from venereal disease, which not only saved a life but also prevented the terrible suffering of "organ decay," a pain perhaps more terrifying than death itself.

He Zudao was half grateful and half ashamed. Seeing Chen Ke, who personally treated him, he could hardly speak coherently, stammering with gratitude, his face alternating between red and white.

Chen Ke listened with a smile, waiting for He Zudao to finish his stammering before asking, "Zudao, when can you return to work?"

"Mr. Wenqing, you, you want me to return to work?" He Zudao was surprised that Chen Ke's first words were these.

"Didn't you say you would return to work once you recovered? What's wrong, are you not fully recovered yet?"

He Zudao was moved to tears by Chen Ke's words. Since his birth, no one besides his parents had been so good to him. He was treated when sick and allowed to return to work when recovered. In those days, once someone contracted venereal disease, no decent place would hire them again. To Chen Ke, it seemed as if He Zudao had only a common cold.

"Mr. Wenqing, my illness is already cured. I can return to work immediately," He Zudao said, his voice choked with emotion.

"Returning to work is good. Zudao, let me explain. That disease is contagious, and you contracted it from your brother. Now that you are cured, if you decide to return, you cannot live with your brother anymore. You will have to endure some hardship and work as a long-term employee for me, moving in here. As long as I am in Shanghai, you will have a place to live, food to eat, and a salary to earn."

The comrades all watched He Zudao. As the saying goes, "a stranger cannot come between family." Chen Ke's words were meant to create a distance between family, but no one found it abnormal. Chen Ke had made his intentions clear: if He Zudao wanted to return, he must not endanger the comrades. This was for everyone's benefit. No one thought Chen Ke's decision was inappropriate. If Chen Ke had not handled it this way, everyone would have felt uneasy, even if they did not openly oppose it.

"Mr. Wenqing, I will move in today," He Zudao said, wiping away his tears.

Chen Ke walked over and patted He Zudao's shoulder, "When you were sick, you were extremely anxious, insisting that we find a way to help you. Your sister Yougui stayed up for days in the lab to find a cure. All our friends did their best, buying hundreds of rabbits for experiments and running around Shanghai several times. Since you've decided to return, move in quickly."

Hearing Chen Ke's words, He Zudao was no longer just choked up; he burst into tears. He knelt down, "Mr. Wenqing, Brother Huishen, I would give my life to repay your great kindness."

Chen Ke and Qi Huishen quickly pulled He Zudao up. Qi Huishen handed him a handkerchief, "Zudao, we are all friends. There's no need to say such things. In times of crisis, can we stand by and do nothing? So, move in quickly and don't make Mr. Wenqing difficult."

"Yes, I will go now," He Zudao said, wiping his tears as Qi Huishen led him away.

Chen Tianhua silently observed all this and glanced at Chen Ke. Chen Tianhua already knew about Chen Ke's special medicine. Chen Ke's seemingly generous act of letting He Zudao return to work and providing him with food and lodging was clearly a way to recruit a "loyal follower." He Zudao, having been saved by Chen Ke, would have a loyalty that few others could match. Chen Tianhua did not oppose this. Revolutionaries needed loyalty. Compared to the superficial loyalty to the revolution, He Zudao's loyalty was more valuable.

He Zudao moved in that afternoon and attended the evening party meeting. This was the first party meeting for both He Zudao and Chen Tianhua. Surprisingly, He Zudao served as the secretary. Qi Huishen strongly recommended He Zudao because of his fast penmanship. Chen Ke provided disposable ink pens, and as Qi Huishen had said, He Zudao's writing was indeed very fast. After Qi Huishen taught He Zudao the shorthand method he and Chen Ke had discussed, the recording speed was even more astonishing. The meeting was interrupted by note-taking much less frequently.

"We must now pay attention to the distinction between party members and non-party members. My suggestion is that since the discussion of the revolutionary line within the party has reached this point, whether we follow the path of a people's revolution or a capitalist revolution is a critical issue. Although both groups of revolutionaries advocate overthrowing the Qing dynasty and expelling imperialist invaders, there is a fundamental difference between the two. One aims to establish a new China where the people can live in peace and prosperity, while the other aims to create a new world where capitalists can do as they please. In the future, and even as the revolution progresses, these two paths will conflict, oppose each other, and even lead to war. Therefore, we must be fully prepared to lead the revolution."

The comrades were silent. For Chen Ke, this understanding was simply the knowledge that a communist and a follower of Chairman Mao must possess. However, the revolutionary youth had very different views on such a blood-soaked future.

The current youth were more loyal to Chen Ke than to the revolution itself. Or rather, they were more loyal to the "industrial and educational development" that the revolution had initiated. The only new comrade, Chen Tianhua, watched the other comrades listen quietly to Chen Ke, and as Chen Ke spoke about the harsh future, he felt a mix of emotions.

On November 4, 1903, Huang Xing, under the pretext of celebrating his thirtieth birthday, invited Liu Kuiyi (from Xiangtan, Changsha, who had studied at Yuelu Academy), Chen Tianhua, Zhang Shizhao, and ten others to a meeting at Peng Yuanxun's home in Changsha to discuss the establishment of a revolutionary organization. At the meeting, it was decided to form the Huaxing Society, which would be known publicly as the "Huaxing Company" with the pretext of "mining development." All members were referred to as shareholders, and "stocks" were membership cards. The slogan "united in heart, settled on the spot" was used, which secretly meant "overthrow the Qing."

On February 15, 1904 (the last day of the lunar year), the Huaxing Society held its formal founding meeting at Long Zhang's residence in Xiyuan. In addition to the 12 founders, over a hundred people from inside and outside the province attended. Huang Xing was elected president, and Song Jiaoren and Liu Kuiyi were elected vice-presidents. The strategic goal was to "dominate one province and rise in all others," with the slogan "expel the Tartars and revive China."

On September 24, 1904, the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the cattle and horse fair in Pujisi, Liuyang, was bustling. Liu Kuiyi, acting on Huang Xing's instructions, held a solemn ceremony to appoint Ma Fuyi as a lieutenant colonel and provided him with 20 rifles, 40 pistols, and 40 horses. The crowd was enthusiastic, and it was agreed that the uprising would begin as soon as a large shipment of weapons arrived from Shanghai.

However, the plans for the Huaxing Society's uprising were already known to the authorities. When the traitor Liu Zuji (who had served as Ma Fuyi's secretary) reported the meeting in Pujisi to Wang Xianqian, the authorities began to investigate and arrest members of the Huaxing Society. The city of Changsha was filled with fear as the police were everywhere. On October 24, the governor of Hunan ordered the arrest of Huang Xing. The police immediately surrounded Huang Xing's residence. Huang Xing was out at the time, and the police rushed to the Dongwen Academy. However, Huang Xing had already learned of the situation and escaped through the back door, hiding in the secret room of the home of the enlightened gentleman Long Weirui. Two days later, under the protection of the Anglican priest Huang Jiting, Huang Xing moved to the back of the Anglican church and hid there for nearly a week. After taking several measures to protect the revolutionary comrades, he disguised himself and secretly went to Shanghai, where he and many other members of the Huaxing Society soon sailed to Japan. Ma Fuyi fled to western Hunan and planned another uprising the following year but was arrested and executed on April 20, 1905, at the age of 40. This marked the end of the Huaxing Society's activities in China.

In Japan, Chen Tianhua actively promoted the formation of the Tongmenghui. After meeting Qiu Jin, she showed Chen Tianhua a manuscript written by Chen Ke. The writing was unusually cold and detached, unlike the passionate and grandiose works of other revolutionaries of the time. However, once Chen Tianhua started reading, he could not put it down. No revolutionary had ever analyzed the issues from such a high perspective and proposed practical methods for saving the country. The author deliberately concealed many points, leaving much unsaid.

Chen Tianhua asked who the author was, and Qiu Jin introduced him to Chen Ke and his ideal of "a revolution for the four hundred million Chinese." Despite his busy schedule, Chen Tianhua could not resist returning to China to meet Chen Ke. The man named Chen Ke and the revolutionary ideas he had not yet revealed captivated Chen Tianhua. Qiu Jin suggested that Chen Tianhua return to Shanghai to meet Chen Ke, describing him as a genius with a high opinion of himself. If Chen Ke did not join the Tongmenghui, it would be a great loss. However, forcing him to join would be futile. Qiu Jin advised Chen Tianhua to spend some time with Chen Ke, who would surely value Chen Tianhua. Chen Ke was not a cold-hearted person, and when the time was right, Chen Tianhua could persuade him to join the Tongmenghui.

After a night of deep conversation with Chen Ke and reading his manuscript and the party meeting records, Chen Tianhua was deeply moved. "People's Revolution" was a revolutionary path that no other revolutionary party had proposed. Other parties either advocated a capitalist revolution or merely shouted the slogan of "people's uprising." Chen Tianhua had participated in both, and both had ended in failure. Moreover, whenever there was a conflict of interests, the revolutionaries would turn on each other, and traitors within the party were common. The fear of internal betrayal far exceeded the fear of external enemies.

As a seasoned revolutionary, Chen Tianhua did not fully understand the concept of "People's Revolution." In his view, the people did not want a revolution. After a brief exposure to Chen Ke's "People's Revolution," Chen Tianhua realized that the people were not against revolution; they just had no reason to fight for the current revolutionaries. If a people's revolution began, the people would first "overthrow the current revolutionaries."

This was Chen Ke's revolutionary ideology. Chen Tianhua knew that this was not the "people's uprising" that other revolutionaries had shouted. Chen Tianhua felt a bit regretful for returning. Every time he heard Chen Ke talk about revolution, it was like the mask of the world was torn off, revealing the bloody reality.

Chen Ke always talked about interests and class struggle but never about lofty ideals. Chen Tianhua, coming from a poor background, was different from other revolutionaries. He could not deny the truth in what Chen Ke said. The current revolutionaries were indeed fighting for their own interests. They had not thought of the people before they gained power, and if they succeeded, they would not think of the people.

Now, Chen Tianhua wanted to understand only one thing: whether the revolution of the capitalists could succeed. Chen Tianhua was not sure which side he wanted to join. Or rather, he still hoped that the ongoing capitalist revolution would succeed. This was not because he could not understand Chen Ke's revolution; it was precisely because of his poor background that he could understand the suffering of the lower classes, their accumulated anger, and their hatred. He could imagine the storm that would be unleashed if the people rose up in revolution.

Chen Tianhua felt a sense of fear at the thought of such a storm.

Listening to Chen Ke, Chen Tianhua knew that Chen Ke understood the meaning of different revolutions. From just one day of interaction, it was clear that Chen Ke came from a prominent family with a long history of high officials and great wealth. Therefore, Chen Ke was very clear about the implications of his words and could express them clearly. However, the well-off comrades around him could not fully understand Chen Ke's meaning. Chen Ke viewed the issues from the perspective of the entire country, and there were many concerns. These concerns were due to Chen Ke's uncertainty about whether some things would develop as he predicted. This was why the comrades could not understand Chen Ke's ideas.

But Chen Tianhua could understand. At Chen Ke's age, to have such a profound understanding of the world was astonishing. Moreover, Chen Ke knew his own shortcomings and how to address them. This was why Chen Ke chose Chen Tianhua as the party's propaganda minister.

Originally, Qiu Jin and Chen Tianhua had planned to persuade Chen Ke to join the Tongmenghui. Now, it was clear that Chen Ke would not join. Chen Tianhua suddenly wanted to leave the party.

"Wenqing, do you really believe that the capitalists will not join the people's revolution?" Qi Huishen asked.

"Let's take a simple example: education. People come and go for profit. Why do we provide education? To get educated students. Who needs these students? Factories, banks, which are still called money shops, government departments, and the military. But how many people do these departments need? What percentage of the population? It's impossible for everyone to receive education. Moreover, the rich can already provide for their own children. The poor don't need education, and the country can still function. So, investing in education is for future profits. Since the future profits are already determined, what's the point of investing more money? To those who invest in education, this is a waste. Therefore, universal education is impossible."

"Is that really the case?" Hua Xiongmeng frowned.

"First, China has a population of four hundred million. If we consider compulsory primary education, there are about sixty million children who should be in school. With fifty students per class, and assuming each teacher can teach all subjects from first to fifth grade, we would need 1.2 million teachers. How much would these teachers earn in a year? At one hundred taels of silver per teacher per year, that's 120 million taels of silver. The Boxer Protocol required 450 million taels of silver. This amount is not enough to pay the salaries of these primary school teachers for four years."

"Wow!" All the young people gasped. Everyone was stunned by the number. Chen Ke, seeing everyone calculating, wrote the figures on the blackboard. Everyone carefully checked and found it to be correct.

Chen Ke put down the chalk and asked, "Who is willing to pay this money? Who can afford to invest this much in education? How many rich people would have to go bankrupt to raise this amount?"

The comrades were silent.

Chen Ke continued, "Let me play the role of a villain. If I were a villain, how would I handle this?"

Chen Ke usually spoke positively about the revolution, but suddenly talking about being a villain piqued everyone's interest. All eyes were on Chen Ke.

"I would require all government officials and the children of the rich to attend school. Of course, they would be willing. I would also establish two types of schools: private and public. Private schools would be funded by the rich, and public schools would be funded by the state. The difference is that private schools admit students by recommendation. If you are rich and have connections, you can attend. If you are poor and have no connections, you cannot. Private schools provide excellent education, producing knowledgeable and skilled students. Public schools are underfunded, and students just learn to read a few words. If a student works hard, that's great. When it comes to university admissions, private universities prioritize graduates from private schools, then consider graduates from public schools. Most importantly, government departments must hire graduates from private schools, who must be guaranteed by officials or capitalists. This achieves multiple goals: first, the rich get the best education; second, the poor have something to look forward to; third, I have universal education. If you don't study hard, it's your own fault."

Everyone couldn't help but shake their heads and smile bitterly. Chen Ke's portrayal of a villain was indeed impressive.

"Thus, the poor, lacking education and knowledge, will remain poor for generations. Even if a few break through, they will change their status and serve as examples. But these are few. The unwritten rule of hiring only graduates from private schools for key positions is enough to block any loopholes. The people may be dissatisfied, but they are helpless. Even if they rebel, they lack education and knowledge, making it impossible for them to organize. I, though few in number, can easily suppress scattered uprisings. I provide opportunities for a few poor people and severely punish those who rebel