Chapter 80

Qualifications and prestige are intangible political assets. Chairman Mao's prestige was accumulated over decades of consistent correctness. Chen Ke's current level of accumulation is far from enough. He dares not recklessly waste his existing resources. If he cannot convince his comrades at this meeting, the work ahead will be extremely difficult.

After Hua Xiongmao joined, all the comrades of the Shanghai Party Branch, except those who were arrested or defected, were present. The meeting proceeded with each person taking turns to speak, starting with Qi Huishen, and everyone had to express their stance. Chen Ke did not turn this meeting into a loyalty rally against himself. The Party does not engage in such practices. Modern political parties are organized based on political views rather than personal relationships. The strength of a modern political party's organizational discipline is the only benchmark for its combat effectiveness.

After a round of speeches, the comrades raised a variety of viewpoints, which could be summarized into three main points: First, to what extent should the Party share intelligence? Who should have control over the Party's core secrets? The incident of a traitor was truly shocking. After just a few days in the prison of the concession, someone had betrayed the Party and revealed the situation of the organization.

After Chen Ke raised this issue that everyone was concerned about, everyone agreed that it must be resolved.

"Since everyone has been involved in this incident, either actively or passively, I believe we must give each comrade an explanation. I'll start by sharing some of my impressions from Beijing." In Beijing, Chen Ke met many people, both constitutionalists and revolutionaries. In fact, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, literati only differed in the degree of their rebellion, not in whether they wanted to rebel. At this time, local gentry who aspired to power advocated for 'constitutional reform' to gain political influence through constitutional means. Overseas students and some 'progressive youth,' despite their respectable appearance, would not truly gain power even under a 'constitutional' system. These people became the main advocates of 'republican revolution.' Ultimately, they all aimed to seize power from the Qing Dynasty.

After explaining the difference between 'constitutionalism' and 'republicanism' in China, the comrades felt that Chen Ke had strayed too far from the topic. This incident involved the Qing government and the concessions working together to suppress the People's Party and the Huangpu Book Society. Although everyone was quickly released, Lu Huitian asked Chen Ke why many comrades were either detained by the police or arrested by the Shanghai authorities. The methods used by both sides were the same. What did this have to do with 'constitutionalism' and 'republicanism'?

Chen Ke continued to explain that the Qing court was unwilling to voluntarily exit the historical stage. To maintain its rule, it had to suppress revolutionaries on one hand and restore its reputation on the other. One major criticism of the Qing was its loss of national sovereignty. Foreign invaders pressured the Qing government to yield more benefits, which the Qing naturally resisted. The Qing was now striving to reclaim lost sovereignty and at least prevent further loss. This was not out of patriotism but because the Qing believed it could not give 'rebels' more reasons to attack the court. The Mixed Court was the main battleground for the Qing's judicial authority and the extraterritorial rights of foreigners in China.

Before Guan Jiong, the Chinese official in charge of the Mixed Court, took his position, the Shanghai Mixed Court had gone through several officials in a short time, all because they failed to protect China's existing rights. Shanghai, being the most prominent site of Sino-foreign conflict, was where the Qing would not make any concessions.

After the gun battle, the police arrested many people to prove the 'legitimacy' of their actions. The Shanghai authorities arrested people to demonstrate their ability to maintain local order and to prevent foreigners from further intervention. This was not a collaboration but another manifestation of the conflict between the two sides.

After hearing Chen Ke's analysis, everyone felt it was both right and wrong. The conflict between the Qing and foreigners was indeed as described. According to Chen Ke's analysis, both sides should have severely punished the arrested individuals, using torture to extract confessions and prove their 'righteousness.' Especially after the People's Party traitor revealed the Party's internal situation to the concession authorities, they should have pursued the matter relentlessly. However, it was the concession authorities who released the detainees first.

After listening to the comrades' questions, Chen Ke raised his left hand and extended two fingers. Everyone was puzzled and looked at Chen Ke in confusion. "Two factors determined why everyone was released. The conflict itself decided that they had to release the detainees."

First, politically, the Shanghai Consular Corps was well aware of the literati's dissatisfaction with the Qing. They also knew that the literati were even more hostile towards foreigners. In the Mixed Court incident, local forces were inclined to support the Qing's stance on national interests. If the Shanghai Consular Corps pursued the case relentlessly, it would only deepen the literati's hatred of foreigners, which would be detrimental to their interests. Moreover, thanks to the traitor, the People's Party was seen by the foreign consular corps in Shanghai as merely a local literati political group. With this classification, the foreign consular corps faced a problem: relentlessly pursuing the People's Party would only strengthen Shanghai's opposition to the foreign consular corps. Even the comprador class, which usually supported foreigners, did not back them this time. Instead of pursuing the People's Party, the foreign consular corps chose to show 'goodwill,' and with the efforts of Qi Huishen's comprador father to lobby the British, all but a few who were involved in the gun battle were released.

The Shanghai authorities, on the other hand, wanted to use local support. They were not enthusiastic about the arrests but needed to prove their ability to maintain local order and warn radical forces against rash actions. Since the British had already released the detainees, and with the lobbying of influential figures like Yan Fu, the Shanghai authorities also released the detainees.

These were all manifestations of the conflict. As the main parties in the conflict—the Qing authorities and foreign invaders—after the intense armed struggle ended and Shanghai returned to a basic state of normalcy, both sides needed to win some people to their side rather than push all other forces into the opposing camp. The People's Party could survive because it was not the main party in the conflict.

After hearing this analysis, the comrades were truly impressed. The situation had many twists and turns, but whether it was arrests or releases, everything revolved around the main conflict. Through Chen Ke's analysis, what initially seemed unreasonable was now clearly explained. The changes in the police and the Shanghai authorities were determined by the progress and conditions of the struggle.

The new Party members had only attended some of Chen Ke's ordinary lectures. After joining the Party, they knew Chen Ke as the founder of the People's Party, but he was no longer in Shanghai, having gone to Beijing. The deeper theories of the Party were explained by Qi Huishen and others. Therefore, these new members felt that since Chen Ke was not in Shanghai when the incident occurred, he should not immediately assume the role of the main organizer upon his return. Many were not entirely convinced. However, with the support of other veteran members, few dared to show their disdain. After hearing Chen Ke's analysis, the new members understood why Chen Ke could lead the organization and why Qi Huishen and others were so obedient to him. After Chen Ke returned to Shanghai, Qi Huishen and others seemed to have a new sense of direction, and their spirits were visibly different. The theoretical levels of the two sides were indeed very different.

Seeing the new comrades discussing, Chen Ke looked around at the veteran members. Qi Huishen, You Gou, Wu Xingchen, and Chai Qingguo were deep in thought, while Hua Xiongmao and He Zudao wore expressions of joy, and Qin Wuan nodded brightly. It seemed they had all accepted his views. As long as these formal members accepted his attitude, the subsequent matters could proceed smoothly.

The new members were filled with joy, whispering to each other. It seemed they were hearing a profound practical analysis of 'contradiction theory' for the first time. Chen Ke thought to himself that this was his current level of understanding, and it was easier to be a wise after-the-fact. He hoped that when using 'contradiction theory' to analyze future developments, he could maintain the same clarity.

Seeing that the comrades had discussed enough, Chen Ke raised his voice, "This is just an external factor. There is a more important and decisive factor inside." Hearing Chen Ke's words, all the comrades stopped talking. The previous analysis had resolved their doubts, and in their view, the two main enemies, the Qing and the foreigners, had been clearly analyzed. What could be the 'decisive' factor that could influence the situation? Everyone listened intently.

Chen Ke's voice was firm and resolute, "If it were just our comrades in the People's Party, according to the usual situation, both the concessions and the Qing would have executed a few to set an example. The Su Bao case was just a few years ago. Zhang Bingyan and Zou Rong were more famous and influential than any of us here, with more friends and relatives. Why did Zhang Bingyan serve two years in the concession prison, and Zou Rong, who was even younger, die from abuse in prison? Why were our comrades released?"

This was a profound statement. The comrades originally thought that the conflict was not intense enough and that there were people behind the scenes. From this perspective, being released after arrest seemed natural. But after Chen Ke compared the People's Party with the Su Bao case, it was clear that the Su Bao case and the People's Party's goals were incomparable. Yet, the main figures in the Su Bao case were either imprisoned or killed, and the Su Bao newspaper was ordered to cease publication. This comparison was very representative.

"Because the people participated in this action. The power of the people, only the power of the people, is the key to everything." Chen Ke declared loudly.

The cause of the Mixed Court incident was that a Guangdong woman, Li Huangshi, whose husband, a Sichuan official, had died, planned to send his coffin back to her hometown for burial. Li Huangshi and her three male and two female companions traveled down the Yangtze River from Chongqing to Shanghai, intending to return to Guangdong. Because they were accompanied by fifteen girls, the police became suspicious. Upon arriving in Shanghai in December 1905, Li Huangshi and her companions were arrested by the police on charges of human trafficking and sent to the Mixed Court for trial. The case was presided over by the Chinese official Guan Jiong, the assistant official Jin Shaocheng, and the British vice-consul Dewey. According to Li Huangshi's testimony, the girls were relatives from Guangdong who had been entrusted to her to be sold as maids or servants, with written contracts. Additionally, they had over a hundred pieces of luggage, which clearly indicated they were not human traffickers. Therefore, Guan Jiong believed that the police's accusation of human trafficking was insufficient and decided to temporarily detain Li Huangshi and her companions in the Mixed Court's women's prison while verifying the contracts and letters to clarify the facts. However, the police chief insisted that Li Huangshi was a human trafficker and must be returned to the police station. Dewey also supported this, insisting that the police take the detainees to the International Settlement's women's prison.

This was originally a purely official matter. Upon learning of this, the Guangdong Association in Shanghai, the Guangzhao Public Hall, first supported Li Huangshi, holding a meeting to protest. Subsequently, various social classes in Shanghai, including officials, merchants, clerks, students, and foreign company employees, held meetings to protest the foreigners' brutality. The people of Shanghai strongly demanded the release of Li Huangshi, the dismissal of Dewey, and the punishment of the police chief Gibson, and the transfer of the female detainees to the Mixed Court. The Qing government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also protested to the foreign legations in Beijing.

Upon learning of this, the People's Party members and the Huangpu Book Society members actively and comprehensively intervened. The spontaneous mass movement, under the guidance and coordination of the Shanghai Party Branch, became more organized and extensive than before. A mass demonstration involving tens of thousands of people was unprecedented in Shanghai's history. Many Shanghai citizens, who were still filled with patriotic fervor after the boycott of American goods, participated in this demonstration, showcasing the power of the people.

The Shanghai Chinese Business Association immediately issued a statement, calling for a boycott of Chinese shops in the concession to protest. Due to the ongoing boycotts, strikes, and protests, the bustling International Settlement was almost paralyzed, leaving the foreigners at a loss. They had no choice but to negotiate with the Shanghai authorities to resolve the incident.

The People's Party members, who personally participated and to some extent led this action, gained high prestige among the people. Especially after the gun battle, the People's Party and the Huangpu Book Society enjoyed a good reputation among the public. To quell public anger, both the concessions and the Qing authorities had to release the People's Party members and Huangpu Book Society members who did not participate in the gun battle.

"Comrades, we are not just twenty-odd members of the People's Party or a hundred-odd members of the Huangpu Book Society fighting against the foreigners. We should not only see our own efforts. Behind us are thousands of Shanghai citizens and even more Chinese people supporting us. If the foreigners dare not harm us, why were the four comrades who participated in the gun battle not released? If the Qing and the foreigners have conflicts, why didn't they demand the release of those comrades from the foreigners and then release them? Because they fear that if they release these people who used force to resist their rule, the people will continue to use weapons to resist the foreigners and even the Qing, who are not much stronger than the foreigners."

Everyone was silent. Chen Ke was right. These young people had previously only complained and criticized the foreigners and the Qing in their familiar environments. When chased and arrested by the police and soldiers, each of them felt the same fear and helplessness. Being released was an outcome they had not expected. After Chen Ke's analysis, they initially felt lucky, but they had not truly regained their original enthusiasm. Hearing Chen Ke's analysis of the power of the people, many felt a new emotion. Yes, the power of the people. It was precisely because of the people's participation that the concessions and the authorities were cautious. Most of the comrades present had personally participated in the demonstration. The endless stream of people, which they had seen with their own eyes, still stirred their emotions. Without being part of it, without leading the crowd in chanting slogans and receiving the response of so many people, one could not feel that sense of power.

"The people, only the people, are great. They are the only force that can change China and determine China's fate." Chen Ke declared loudly, "Long live the people!"

Hearing these words, everyone's emotions were stirred, and the initial dejection was swept away. Everyone's faces were radiant. Qi Huishen raised his hand and began to clap, and one by one, all the comrades joined in, the enthusiastic applause echoing in the classroom.

"Long live the people!" Hua Xiongmao shouted. During Chen Ke's absence, Hua Xiongmao felt uneasy. Now that Chen Ke was back, Hua Xiongmao was very happy. Chen Ke's insightful analysis had already won over the comrades, and he naturally wanted to add to the momentum.

"Long live the people!" He Zudao, who was next to Hua Xiongmao, also shouted. He had always been a simple follower of Chen Ke. This time, his shout was heartfelt. As a liaison officer, he had seen more and more people join the demonstration, eventually forming a massive tide. This simple youth had never experienced such a scene, and Chen Ke's words resonated deeply with him.

Chen Ke suddenly stood up, "Comrades, perhaps our participation made this movement more organized, but even if we had not participated, would the people not take to the streets? Would they not demonstrate? No, comrades, the people would still spontaneously take to the streets and demonstrate. The revolution is not non-existent; the revolution already exists. The people need the revolution! And the people know their enemies! They know! Do they not know that the foreigners are oppressing them? Do they not know that Guan Jiong, the official of the Mixed Court, is opposing the foreigners' lawlessness? The people know! When our Party comrades organized the demonstration, did the people refuse? No, they needed to express their dissatisfaction. Even facing the foreigners' guns, did they stop shouting? No! The people did not stop shouting! Comrades of the People's Party, if we had not just a few guns and a few people, but thousands of well-equipped soldiers, when we face the foreigners and the people's enemies, which side do you think the people would stand on? Tell me!"

Everyone imagined the scene Chen Ke described, and an indescribable sense of excitement stirred within them! Yes! If they had not just a few guns, if they really had thousands of soldiers, the people would definitely stand with the People's Party.

"Where do our guns come from? Where do our soldiers come from? They do not fall from the sky or grow from the ground. They are among the people! Mobilize the people, let the people know that the People's Party's program can save China, and the people will join us! They will follow us,