Chapter 78

As the saying goes, "Hearing the truth in the morning, one can die in the evening." Chen Ke was now in such a state. Li Hongqi's words were sharp and profound, explaining worldly affairs in a way that was both deep and accessible. Many things he had known but not understood before suddenly made sense. Unconsciously, they had already talked for over an hour, and Chen Ke had not noticed the passage of time at all.

Li Hongqi looked a bit tired, and he gently patted his chest before continuing, "After all this talk, I want to tell you two what I think you should do."

Chen Ke, Shang Yuan, and He Ying all stared into Li Hongqi's eyes, waiting for their teacher's final advice.

"I am a Confucian scholar, following the great path of Confucius and Xunzi. I don't understand revolution or industry. From my studies, revolution, though grand, ultimately comes down to human affairs. These affairs are governed by the Five Constants: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness. Ultimately, it's about relying on oneself rather than others."

This was something Chen Ke had always strived for. Hearing his teacher speak, he became even more engaged, eager to see how Li Hongqi's views differed from his own.

"First is faithfulness. Faithfulness means that what you say must be done, and what you do must be as you say. A promise is a promise. If you don't know your own limits, how can you keep your word? Knowing oneself means not only knowing what you can do but also what you cannot. This is true self-awareness. Knowing what you cannot do prevents you from making promises you can't keep. Thus, what you say will be what you can promise, and you will be trustworthy. My teacher once told me, 'It's better to act without speaking than to speak and not act.' You must remember this."

After listening to Li Hongqi, the three of them nodded in agreement.

"Since you know what you cannot do, you are already close to wisdom. Wisdom is about knowing when to take and when to give. You cannot have both the fish and the bear's paw. One must choose. People must never overestimate their abilities."

This was the reason for forming a united front, Chen Ke suddenly realized. Who are our friends, and who are our enemies? Even if today's friend becomes tomorrow's enemy, if you need to kill him tomorrow, you should still give him the fish today. Knowing when to take and when to give, and how to distribute benefits, is one of the methods of a united front. As he was thinking, Shang Yuan asked, "Teacher, what if I have the power to have both the fish and the bear's paw?"

"That's a matter of propriety. The divine tool has no master; it belongs to those who have the power and virtue. Propriety is a system. The book of the literati says that the state is a tool of class rule. The operation of the state is the operation of the system, and the system is maintained by the state apparatus, which is the strongest and most powerful force in the world. Establishing propriety and music depends on military might. If your power is great enough to set rules and establish order, you should be the one to distribute the bear's paw and the fish. If you keep the bear's paw and the fish for yourself... what use do you have for them?" Li Hongqi asked.

Shang Yuan blushed, "Teacher, you are right."

"Power can seize a state, but power cannot govern a state. If you can establish propriety and order, then the essence of propriety is righteousness. The way of heaven is to diminish what is excessive and make up for what is insufficient. The way of man is different; it diminishes what is insufficient to serve what is excessive. Therefore, righteousness must be the way of heaven. I read in the book of the literati that in an agricultural society, where productivity is insufficient, even if you want to diminish what is excessive, it may not be enough to make up for what is lacking. In an industrial society, with machine production, scarcity is overcome, and thus what is excessive can make up for what is lacking. This is very good. However, Confucius once spoke about Zi Gong redeeming a man from Lu. This must not be done."

This is a classic story. In the state of Lu, there was a law that if a Lu citizen was enslaved abroad and someone redeemed them, they could be reimbursed by the state treasury. Once, Confucius's disciple Zi Gong (Duanmu Ci) redeemed a Lu citizen abroad and refused to accept the state's reimbursement upon returning. Confucius said, "Zi Gong, you have taken the wrong approach. From now on, Lu citizens will not be willing to redeem their fellow countrymen from slavery. If you had accepted the state's reimbursement, it would not have diminished the value of your act; but by refusing it, others will not redeem people because they cannot afford to lose the reimbursement. Zi Lu saved a drowning man, who thanked him with a cow, which Zi Lu accepted. Confucius said, 'This will encourage Lu citizens to be brave in saving drowning people.'"

In Confucius's view, Zi Gong's mistake was raising the moral standard to a height that most people could not reach. What would be the consequence? First, the apparent moral standard in society would be raised, and everyone would claim to learn from Zi Gong. Second, the actual moral level would decline because the high moral standard set by Zi Gong would make it seem immoral to accept the state's reimbursement, but few people could afford to lose the reimbursement without affecting their lives.

Chen Ke did not entirely agree with this. If the People's Party members held themselves to such a standard, what kind of "People's Party" would it be? Historically, party members never held themselves to such a standard. Everything for the people, wholeheartedly serving the people. If it were about equivalent exchange and fair trade, what kind of party would the People's Party be? It would degenerate into a corrupt organization like the Nationalist Party.

Thinking this, Chen Ke's face showed some disagreement. Li Hongqi saw it immediately and smiled, "Wenqing, I know you and Wangshan will never follow Zi Lu's example. And I want to tell you that your comrades should not follow Zi Lu either. Because what you must do is benevolence. The benevolent are invincible because they possess faithfulness, wisdom, propriety, and righteousness. The benevolent love others, and the righteous govern with justice. To love others means to eliminate cruelty, and to govern with justice means to remove chaos. Since you have the world in your heart, you must eliminate cruelty and chaos. You must gather comrades who share this goal. You must let the world know that the people can have both righteousness and benefit, but you and your comrades cannot, nor should you."

Li Hongqi finished his thoughts on benevolence, looking quite excited. His breathing was rapid, and his face was flushed. Chen Ke quickly nodded in agreement, thinking to himself that he had underestimated Teacher Li Hongqi.

Li Hongqi continued excitedly, "The world today is said to be in a great transformation unseen in three thousand years, but in my view, it is just another cycle of order and chaos in China. The only difference is that China, once confined to Asia, is now more deeply involved in the world. China is now in a state of moral decay and is facing a massive foreign invasion. Internal and external troubles abound, and many people only see the brutality of foreigners, but they do not see the even greater cruelty and shamelessness of China itself."

At this point, Li Hongqi could not help but breathe rapidly. Chen Ke, even if he were slow, could see that Li Hongqi was ill. The flush on his face was actually a sign of his illness. He was about to suggest that Li Hongqi rest, but Shang Yuan only stood up to pour him a cup of tea. Li Hongqi took a sip, rested for a moment, and then continued, "Wenqing, it's right that you remain silent. My illness is my own affair. Since I want to teach you, and you respect me, listen carefully to my lessons. If you act like children, panicking and crying, then my teaching will be in vain."

"Teacher Li, there's plenty of time today. Please take your time," Chen Ke quickly said.

"You can listen slowly, but I don't have time to speak slowly," Li Hongqi forced a smile and continued, "The world today is cruel and perverse, in great chaos. This has always been the case during dynastic changes. How to deal with the world's cruelty, how to escape from it, and how to firmly eliminate all injustice is a very difficult task for people like you who have ambition. In today's China, once the Qing dynasty falls, chaos will ensue. It will be a time of widespread suffering and countless deaths. Even if you make the world more chaotic, you should not worry. This is China's destiny, and you cannot stop it. What you can do is to bring order to the chaos, use the chaos to sweep away all the old ills, and root out all injustice. When peace returns, China will be stronger and more glorious. Wangshan, you are my disciple. Confucianism is already in decline, and this is fate. Confucius had no industrialization. I am a Confucian scholar, and I don't expect you to promote Confucianism. I only expect you to promote China. When Wenqing writes, he draws on China's history. If you succeed, I have only one request: give Confucianism a bit of dignity. Let Chinese civilization, not foreign civilization, be the one to end Confucianism."

At this point, Li Hongqi's breathing became even heavier, and the flush on his face faded, leaving him extremely pale. "Wangshan, can you promise me this?"

Shang Yuan, hearing his teacher's words, lowered his head slightly. After a moment, he looked up, "I cannot promise you. I can only do my best."

Li Hongqi sighed in disappointment and nodded lightly, "I understand your difficulty." He then turned to Chen Ke, "Wenqing, you are now a righteous person who can bring order to chaos. I see that you lack the heart of a benevolent person and the passion to hate evil. The way of the king is broad, and the way of the hegemon is glorious. Although you think of the way of the king, your actions may be those of a hegemon. I am very worried that you will go down the wrong path of hegemony. You are not a member of the Mingjiao, so I must advise you not to care about your reputation. I see that you are very concerned with fame and profit, always wanting both. But I think you value your reputation even more. As long as you can save China, let others judge your legacy. As long as you do not deliberately seek personal fame, you will surely achieve great things in the future."

"Thank you, Teacher Li. I will remember your words," Chen Ke replied earnestly.

"That's enough for today. You can go. I need to rest," Li Hongqi said.

The three of them stood up. Shang Yuan knelt before his teacher and bowed respectfully before leaving with Chen Ke and the others. Li Hongqi did not get up from his chair but watched them leave the courtyard gate. He then shakily took out his medicine from his pocket. A woman came out from the back hall, poured him hot water, and helped him take his medicine, complaining, "You are ill, yet you force yourself to teach them. Do you want to be an imperial tutor?"

"The world is like this. If a true emperor can emerge, it would be a good thing. But from the books Shang Yuan has brought and the principles he discusses, even if someone can rule the world, there will be no more emperors," Li Hongqi said, leaning back in his chair.

"Wangshan is too soft-hearted. I fear he will suffer in the future," the woman sighed.

"If the world were not in such a state, I would never have let Wangshan and Chen Ke go together. This is fate," Li Hongqi's voice lost its earlier intensity, now filled with deep regret and concern, "Let it be."

After parting ways with Shang Yuan at Li Hongqi's door, Chen Ke walked down the street with He Ying, holding her hand. They could not ignore the task of buying gifts, and by the afternoon, the rickshaw behind them was piled high with gifts. After leaving Li Hongqi's house, Chen Ke had not spoken much, his mind fully occupied with reflecting on Li Hongqi's teachings. The Confucian scholar's views on revolution made sense to Chen Ke, but he needed more time to consider them. What troubled Chen Ke more was Li Hongqi's criticism of him. Summarizing the day's content, Li Hongqi pointed out two flaws in Chen Ke: first, being overly concerned with others' opinions and legacy.

Chen Ke was a staunch supporter of Chairman Mao. Having seen how much mud was thrown at Chairman Mao after his death, Chen Ke was quite worried about his own future. In his view, Chairman Mao's revolutionary methods were correct, including the various movements, which needed to be fully replicated. This made him feel some fear. Although Teacher Li Hongqi did not know Chen Ke's thoughts, he clearly saw the problem.

But now, he realized it was unnecessary. Chairman Mao was intense and, to put it bluntly, even "somewhat domineering." For this, General Zhu once said to him, "Runzhi, we do not oppose your views; we cannot accept your attitude." But history proved that Chairman Mao was right. Moreover, he did not care about his legacy. Why should Chen Ke care? Being criticized is just that. Besides those who criticize, there are also staunch supporters like Chen Ke. Focusing only on the critics and ignoring the supporters would be a low-level mistake that Chairman Mao would never make.

With this realization, Chen Ke felt much lighter.

The other issue Li Hongqi raised was Chen Ke's lack of benevolence. Chen Ke had reflected on this before. For those without revolutionary spirit or who could not keep up with the revolution, Chen Ke did not have the energy to care about their lives. If he spent all his time saving others, how could he focus on the revolution? The revolution is about showing people a better choice, a more powerful way of organizing productivity. Those who can keep up should do so, and those who cannot should be forced to. Chen Ke was not a monk and had no interest in "cutting flesh to feed the eagle" or "sacrificing oneself to feed the tiger." He lacked love but not hatred for the old society. At least, he did not lack extreme disdain and disgust. This was enough for now.

Thinking this, Chen Ke took a deep breath. There would soon be a place for his "hatred" to be expressed. Back in Shanghai, the struggle would not be gentle.

Everything was proceeding according to plan. He Ruming did not expect his son-in-law to return to Shanghai so soon with his daughter. But once a daughter is married, she is like water spilled out, and he had no excuse to order Chen Ke to stay. So Chen Ke packed his bags and left openly.

On January 9, 1906, Chen Ke returned to Shanghai with his wife. At the dock, he saw familiar faces: Xie Mingxian and You Gou. It seemed that the great arrest had not completely destroyed the People's Party organization. Seeing Chen Ke, You Gou extended her hand, and Chen Ke quickly walked over to firmly shake her warm hand.

"Wenqing, you must have had a hard journey," You Gou smiled. After two months, she was noticeably thinner and tanner, but the subtle air of pampered nobility was gone. Her eyes were bright and sharp, and her handshake was much stronger.

Chen Ke was immediately reassured. Despite the blow, the spirit of the comrades had not been broken. "I'm back. I appreciate everyone's hard work while I was away," Chen Ke said, tightly holding You Gou's hand.

You Gou also noticed the significant changes in Chen Ke. In Shanghai, he had been more like a scholar, always smiling gently. Now, he was more like a northern man, with a sharpness and determination that had become his defining traits. This change came from making a firm decision, and You Gou, who had also gone through this process, was more sensitive to it.

He Ying was surprised to see her husband shaking hands with a very straightforward and confident girl in public, acting as if it were normal. When Chen Ke introduced You Gou, He Ying only nodded slightly, not particularly warmly.

"Wenqing and I are friends. Didn't you hear him talk about me?" You Gou laughed.

"He was very busy in Beijing and didn't have time to mention it," He Ying forced a smile.

"Let's talk on the way."

The journey was silent, and to Chen Ke's surprise, they returned to the school. The school gates were tightly closed, and the guards at the entrance were the Shandong heroes Wu Xingchen had recruited a few months