Chapter 88

The headquarters of the Jishi Charity on Vincent Street has been completely renovated. A row of tall pine trees has been transplanted into the courtyard, slightly isolating the Jishi Charity headquarters from the surrounding dirty environment. The view from Chairman Zhu Jishi's office is indeed much more pleasant now.

The July sunshine in England, shining through the bright glass windows, falls onto the large teak table in the office. Three people stand side by side next to the table, all dressed in fine Western suits, smiling and staring at a camera that looks like a wooden box.

What a historic moment! This is history in the making! Zhu Jishi can hardly contain his excitement. The two people standing on either side of him are his good friend, Friedrich Engels, and the number one god of GCism, Karl Marx!

What is being awesome? This is being awesome! Marx on the left, Engels on the right, and himself in the middle! If this photo were to be passed down, and seen by Chairman M and Premier Z decades later, who knows what they would think!

"Smile, okay!"

The person taking the photo is Will Heming. From the way he looks, he is likely to become a great man in the future, either one of the elders of GCism or a participant in Zhu Jishi's Chinese bourgeois revolution. Ever since he made up his mind to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming, Zhu Jishi has had his eye on this Irishman who graduated from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Since he is planning a rebellion, the more capable people he has, the better. Moreover, Will Heming is an "extremely aggrieved" Irishman (really extremely aggrieved, as the English do not consider them their own), and has been dismissed from the British Army, making him politically more reliable.

"Karl, it's great that you came to Manchester, and it's an honor to meet you." Zhu Jishi warmly held Marx's hand, his eyes repeatedly scanning the face with the iconic large beard. It really is like the arrival of the patriarch, not much different from the portraits of the future. If this gentleman knew that his ideology would be widely promoted in China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba, he would be overjoyed!

"The honor is mine, Sir, you are a member of the French Academy of Sciences and the Royal Society." Marx humbly smiled, somewhat unaccustomed to the enthusiasm of this great scientist and millionaire who had been ennobled. He was just a newspaper editor who had recently lost his job, while Zhu Jishi was a British baronet and was called the greatest scientist of the era...

"Sit down, Karl, Friedrich, you both sit down, Will, bring in three more cups of coffee." Zhu Jishi personally pulled over two chairs and invited Marx and Engels to sit down. He did not invite these two great men just to take a few photos for future generations.

"Karl, Friedrich, I have decided to set out for the East in January next year." When Zhu Jishi said this, his face showed a serious expression. The task in the East is one that risks his life. The peaceful reform he originally envisioned now seems impossible.

"Jason, you belong to the East, to China, I wish you good luck." Engels solemnly said to Zhu Jishi.

"You are going to the East to..." Marx and Zhu Jishi were not very familiar, though they had corresponded, this was their first meeting.

"To launch a revolution to overthrow the Qing Dynasty!" Zhu Jishi bitterly told Marx.

"Are you going to establish a republic?"

"No, I am likely to become the ruler of a reactionary dynasty." Zhu Jishi looked at Marx and Engels, thinking that with their great mentor status, having a monarch as a friend might be a bit ironic.

"Not all monarchs are reactionary." Engels smiled and shook his head, turning his gaze to Marx. Actually, this was only their second meeting. "Karl, what do you think? Overthrowing a feudal autocratic dynasty and establishing a new dynasty representing the interests of the bourgeoisie, is that a revolution with positive significance?"

"Bourgeoisie interests?"

Before Marx could speak, Zhu Jishi smiled bitterly, "I think there is no true bourgeoisie in China."

"I think there should be one," Marx stroked his beard and looked at Zhu Jishi.

Zhu Jishi laughed, "There is one, and that is me, a bourgeois revolution."

"That is also a bourgeois revolution!" Marx pointed out incisively, "Jason, you are a member of the bourgeoisie and the leader of the revolution, so this is a bourgeois-led revolution. After the revolution succeeds, you will certainly implement many policies to promote the development of capitalism in China... so you are going to launch a bourgeois revolution!"

"Can it succeed?" Zhu Jishi was most concerned about whether it could succeed. "Is one bourgeois person not a bit too few?"

"Whether it can succeed does not depend on the number of the bourgeoisie, but on the strength of the bourgeoisie and the strength of the feudal autocratic dynasty that hinders the revolution."

After Marx finished speaking, he took a stack of manuscripts from his leather bag and handed them to Zhu Jishi, "This is my 'History of the Opium Trade,' I hope it will be helpful to you. In my view, all the contradictions between the European powers and the Qing Dynasty revolve around the opium trade."

"Opium trade?" Zhu Jishi took the thick stack of manuscripts, "Are these all about the opium trade?"

"Not that many," Marx smiled, "I also revised your 'On the Nation-State.' Your original views were too moderate, suitable for reform rather than revolution. If the Tartar dynasty adopted your suggestions, your revolution would be uncertain."

In Zhu Jishi's book 'On the Nation-State,' he had provided a prescription to save the Qing Dynasty. According to his view, for the Qing to reform, it must solve the ethnic issue. The solution to ethnic contradictions was not "Manchu and Han as one family" but "no distinction between Manchu and Han," merging the two ethnic groups into the Chinese nation. Ordinary Manchu people could be given a one-time state bond to buy out their privileges, while the Eight Banners nobility would be transformed into Chinese nobility, like the nobility in European countries, enjoying certain privileges.

"I am not worried about that, the Tartars will not have time to reform even if they want to." Zhu Jishi smiled slightly, nodding gratefully to Marx. Although he was not a historian, he knew that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a movement that would sweep half of China and last for fourteen years, would happen in a few years! The Qing Dynasty would not have time to carry out a fundamental reform before then.

"That is true, reform is always a slow process," Marx seemed to be getting more interested in the conversation. Previously, he had not been very interested in Zhu Jishi's bourgeois revolution. "But you must not underestimate the importance of the opium trade in Sino-British relations."

Hearing Marx emphasize the opium trade again, Zhu Jishi's expression became serious. Marx continued, "Jason, I know the British are very enthusiastic about supporting your school in Hong Kong. Do you know why?"

"Friedrich thinks they want to use me to cultivate pro-British politicians and possibly to stir up political strife in China."

Marx nodded and said in a serious tone, "I think the opium trade is the most important reason. Although China lost the last war, it did not abandon its policy of prohibiting the opium trade. However, the huge profits from the opium trade are something the British are unwilling to give up! In fact, opium is the only commodity that the British can import into China in large quantities to plunder silver. As a political force cultivated and supported by the British, you can only maintain consistency with the British on the issue of the opium trade.

Moreover, if you plan to oppose the Qing government by violent means, you will soon face the same problem. The British will not allow your government to prohibit the import of opium. What do you plan to do about it?"

Hearing Marx's question, Zhu Jishi could only sigh. What should he do? He definitely cannot abandon the British and fight the Qing alone. Actually, he is not afraid of fighting the Qing alone, but he is afraid that the Qing might sell out the country more than he does, winning the favor of the allies...