Chapter 98

If someone could observe the world from an omniscient perspective, they would surely see many very interesting things. For example, the Zhang family's young men, carrying Zhang Youliang's complaint, boarded a ship, and Hua Xiongmeng and Xu Dian almost simultaneously boarded the insurance group's ship. The two parties set off from Yuezhangji and the county town, respectively, with their destinations being the county town and Yuezhangji.

The two young men of the First Company of the insurance group casually sat at the bow of the large covered boat. The wind was favorable, and the red hammer and sickle flag of the People's Party at the bow was gently swaying in the wind.

"Brother Zhenglan, how did you come to think of starting a revolution?" Although Xu Dian was the political commissar of the First Company, he had never talked much with Hua Xiongmeng. Xu Dian, who studied law, thought his thinking was quite meticulous, but he never knew that revolutionary work was so complicated. Each time he got used to the workload, even more work would come. Today, with the weather being good and not much happening on the way, Xu Dian wanted to chat with Hua Xiongmeng.

"Revolution is inevitable. After meeting Wenqing, I started following him." Hua Xiongmeng always answered this question the same way.

"Brother Zhenglan, do you think we can start a revolution?" For some reason, Xu Dian spoke his mind.

"Aren't you afraid that Zhang Youliang will get rough with us when we get to Yuezhangji?" Hua Xiongmeng asked.

Xu Dian just felt uneasy, but he hadn't thought much about where this unease came from. Suddenly asked by Hua Xiongmeng, Xu Dian was at a loss for words.

"Commissar Xu, what do you think of Wenqing?" Hua Xiongmeng had no intention of mocking Xu Dian; he just wanted to guide him.

"Wenqing is indeed very capable. No one I've met can match him." Xu Dian answered. Everyone knew that Hua Xiongmeng was a staunch supporter of Chen Ke, so Xu Dian was being somewhat conservative.

"You don't have to flatter me. Wenqing is extremely principled, even to the point of being harsh and unkind. I decided to follow him because Wenqing never acts for personal gain." Hua Xiongmeng answered Xu Dian's previous question.

"Harsh and unkind is a bit too strong. Wenqing always works the hardest. If we talk about harshness, he is the harshest on himself." This was Xu Dian's honest opinion; he admired Chen Ke's self-discipline.

"Wenqing is solely for the revolution, for saving the Chinese people. Although I haven't fully understood his principles, I am certain about this. By the way, Commissar Xu, why do you want a revolution?"

"I hope China can rise and no longer be bullied by foreigners. That's why I want a revolution. After meeting Wenqing in Beijing, we found his ideas about industrialization very convincing, so we followed him to Anhui."

"The people are suffering so much, always being bullied." Hua Xiongmeng replied.

"Yes, the people are bullied by the government and landlords, and also by foreigners. It's because China is weak. When China becomes strong, we must drive the foreigners out of China and make sure they can never bully the Chinese again." Xu Dian was angry when he talked about foreigners.

Hua Xiongmeng probed further, "Commissar Xu, do you think the Qing Dynasty or the foreigners are more despicable?"

"Both are despicable. The foreigners are unreasonable, but the Qing Dynasty has lost national sovereignty and dignity, which is even more despicable." Xu Dian was indignant.

"If the people can become strong, we will definitely drive the foreigners out of China." Hua Xiongmeng earnestly persuaded. The people's revolution must first liberate the people. Only when the people are liberated can China be liberated. This was the concept most deeply ingrained in the old party members by Chen Ke. However, Hua Xiongmeng found that Chen Ke educated the new party members much less on this aspect. Of course, Hua Xiongmeng thought this might be his own illusion, so he didn't want to say too much about it.

"The people, how to say it, need a capable government to save them." Xu Dian's view was actually the attitude of a considerable number of people in the People's Party. Especially among party members with high education, this attitude was mainstream. Of course, Shang Yuan never said such things. One of the main reasons Xu Dian came to Anhui was his admiration for Shang Yuan. Now, Shang Yuan seemed somewhat "out of place" with everyone, which surprised Xu Dian.

Xu Dian didn't know that Chen Ke and Shang Yuan had long agreed on the need to rectify party issues. Both believed that the People's Party must have the liberation of the people at its core. However, there was no way to demonstrate the power of the people, and emphasizing this issue too much would cause unnecessary trouble. Only the old party members like Hua Xiongmeng could sense some subtle changes in Chen Ke.

Hua Xiongmeng usually didn't like to talk much about the revolution, which didn't mean his understanding of the revolution was worse than Xu Dian's. Even if Chen Ke had plans for rectification, he couldn't reveal them now. The internal contradictions within the party were far from reaching the point where they needed to be resolved by force. So Hua Xiongmeng didn't know Chen Ke's plans. What Hua Xiongmeng could sense was the subtle difference between the new and old party members. The old party members had followed Chen Ke for a long time and had learned to serve the people. In the People's Party and the insurance group, officers and cadres must serve their subordinates and soldiers. In practice, only the old party members could do this. The new cadres at most treated their subordinates and soldiers equally.

After several months of building the army, Hua Xiongmeng fully understood why Chen Ke established the soldiers' committee. Without the soldiers' committee to balance and counteract, and if these new party members were all outsiders, plus the strong suppression by Chen Ke and the old party members, Chen Ke's principle of "officers and soldiers as one, equal treatment" would have been distorted long ago. Since he was working with Xu Dian, Hua Xiongmeng hoped Xu Dian would set a better example.

The political commissar was a political representative. Xu Dian was not lacking in self-discipline, but the air of superiority he exuded was completely different from Chen Ke's strict requirements for the soldiers. This was evident in how the soldiers treated the two. When Chen Ke passed by, the soldiers showed respect and tried to be more disciplined to please their beloved Captain Chen. When Xu Dian passed by, the soldiers showed discipline to avoid his criticism. Hua Xiongmeng didn't think Xu Dian had more influence in the army. However, Hua Xiongmeng wasn't good with words, so although he knew this, he didn't know how to say it to Xu Dian.

After some thought, Hua Xiongmeng said, "Commissar Xu, do you think I am very loyal to Wenqing?"

"Ha ha." Xu Dian just smiled without answering. In the People's Party, the four staunch supporters of Chen Ke were Hua Xiongmeng, Shang Yuan, You Gou, and He Zudao, with Hua Xiongmeng being the top. Xu Dian had heard that the three important cadres outside, Qi Huishen, Chen Tianhua, and Wu Xingchen, were also loyal to Chen Ke. As a staunch supporter of Chen Ke, Hua Xiongmeng saying this was naturally to win people's hearts for Chen Ke. Xu Dian didn't want to be loyal to anyone, although he didn't dislike Chen Ke and recognized his abilities, he couldn't kneel to Chen Ke.

"I am loyal to Wenqing's methods. From what I see, everything Wenqing asks us to do is right." Hua Xiongmeng felt he had said as much as he could, and saying more would be inappropriate.

After hearing this, Xu Dian not only didn't get angry but nodded. "Wenqing is indeed extraordinary. Honestly, if I were in the flood, I would be at a loss. How could I find a way like Wenqing always does?"

After hearing this, Hua Xiongmeng really didn't know what to say. Xu Dian's words were so proper and completely in line with the People's Party's pursuit of righteousness. If Hua Xiongmeng opposed, it would make him seem unprincipled. In fact, Hua Xiongmeng had never thought about how his loyalty to Chen Ke was different from others. No one had discussed this with him. After talking with Xu Dian for a while, he began to understand. For Xu Dian and others, they would only obey orders and follow commands after fully or basically agreeing with Chen Ke's ideas. Hua Xiongmeng, on the other hand, would first obey orders and follow commands, and then consider whether Chen Ke's orders could be better executed. As for whether Chen Ke was right, Hua Xiongmeng didn't pay much attention.

After thinking this through, Hua Xiongmeng suddenly became puzzled. When did he start being so obedient to Chen Ke? He couldn't figure it out, so he gave up on pursuing the matter. "Commissar Xu, let's go over how we will deal with Zhang Youliang this time," Hua Xiongmeng said.

When Zhang Youliang learned that Hua Xiongmeng was coming again, and this time with two large covered boats, he immediately became alert. Last time, the insurance group's boat wasn't very big and there was only one. What did the insurance group mean by coming in such a grand manner this time? Could it be that they knew he had sent people to the county to file a complaint and were here to intimidate him?

But after some thought, the recent strict control of the village, not allowing people to enter or leave at will, should not have been a problem. And the insurance group had said they would come back to Yuezhangji at this time. It seemed these bandits were not giving up.

In times of crisis, one must not show weakness. This was Zhang Youliang's experience from the battlefield. He ordered the people who brought the insurance group to come in. Not even seeing the insurance group would be too embarrassing, and now was the time to intimidate these ignorant bandits.

The lackeys didn't take long to bring in two people. The first person was tall and handsome, with a braid. The second person was of medium height, quite sturdy, and had a short, parted hairstyle like a foreigner. Both were composed and calm, with no trace of the bandit's roughness.

Seeing Zhang Youliang, the first person said loudly, "I am the First Company commander of the insurance group, a martial arts scholar from Shaoxing, Hua Xiongmeng. Nice to meet you, Mr. Zhang."

Hearing this, Zhang Youliang thought he might have heard wrong. Just as he was about to ask, the young man behind him said, "I am the First Company political commissar of the insurance group, a graduate of the law department at Tokyo University in Japan, Xu Dian. Nice to meet you, Mr. Zhang."

Although the two were polite in their words, they only nodded slightly, not even giving a formal bow. According to the Qing Dynasty's official system, Hua Xiongmeng was a scholar, and Xu Dian was a university graduate recognized by the Qing Dynasty, equivalent to a Jinshi. Both were men of distinction and did not need to bow to Zhang Youliang, a local landlord.

Although Zhang Youliang was a landlord, he was not a bumpkin. He understood the terms used by the two men and was shocked to learn that one was a martial arts scholar and the other a foreign-educated student. Instantly, Zhang Youliang understood why the county magistrate treated the insurance group with respect. If what these two said was true, the county magistrate could not touch them at all. Although Zhang Youliang was still arrogant, his face remained calm, but he was already shaken inside.

"Commissar Xu, let's go over how we will deal with Zhang Youliang this time," Hua Xiongmeng said.

When Zhang Youliang learned that Hua Xiongmeng was coming again, and this time with two large covered boats, he immediately became alert. Last time, the insurance group's boat wasn't very big and there was only one. What did the insurance group mean by coming in such a grand manner this time? Could it be that they knew he had sent people to the county to file a complaint and were here to intimidate him?

But after some thought, the recent strict control of the village, not allowing people to enter or leave at will, should not have been a problem. And the insurance group had said they would come back to Yuezhangji at this time. It seemed these bandits were not giving up.

In times of crisis, one must not show weakness. This was Zhang Youliang's experience from the battlefield. He ordered the people who brought the insurance group to come in. Not even seeing the insurance group would be too embarrassing, and now was the time to intimidate these ignorant bandits.

The lackeys didn't take long to bring in two people. The first person was tall and handsome, with a braid. The second person was of medium height, quite sturdy, and had a short, parted hairstyle like a foreigner. Both were composed and calm, with no trace of the bandit's roughness.

Seeing Zhang Youliang, the first person said loudly, "I am the First Company commander of the insurance group, a martial arts scholar from Shaoxing, Hua Xiongmeng. Nice to meet you, Mr. Zhang."

Hearing this, Zhang Youliang thought he might have heard wrong. Just as he was about to ask, the young man behind him said, "I am the First Company political commissar of the insurance group, a graduate of the law department at Tokyo University in Japan, Xu Dian. Nice to meet you, Mr. Zhang."

Although the two were polite in their words, they only nodded slightly, not even giving a formal bow. According to the Qing Dynasty's official system, Hua Xiongmeng was a scholar, and Xu Dian was a university graduate recognized by the Qing Dynasty, equivalent to a Jinshi. Both were men of distinction and did not need to bow to Zhang Youliang, a local landlord.

Although Zhang Youliang was a landlord, he was not a bumpkin. He understood the terms used by the two men and was shocked to learn that one was a martial arts scholar and the other a foreign-educated student. Instantly, Zhang Youliang understood why the county magistrate treated the insurance group with respect. If what these two said was true, the county magistrate could not touch them at all. Although Zhang Youliang was still arrogant, his face remained calm, but he was already shaken inside.

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