Crimson Dawn

Xu Xilin got rid of Yinghua Xiongmao and came in after a while.Chen Ke felt a little strange. Although Xu's house was big, a normal tortoise was struggling to move forward, and it almost crawled over from the hall at this time.Just as he was guessing, he saw Xu Xilin leading Hua Xiongmao into the living room. Although his expression was still somewhat depressed, at least Xu Xilin had recovered his normal expression.Hua Xiongmao saw Qiu Jin in the room, and shouted respectfully: "Hello, Aunt Qiu." Then he turned to Chen Ke and said, "Hello, Brother Chen. I felt very happy drinking yesterday, and I can just drink Brother Chen today." Keep drinking."

These two titles made Chen Ke feel very wrong. After thinking for a while, he realized that he was actually taken advantage of by Qiu Jin.Chen Ke stood up and said, "Hua Juren, I really had a good drink yesterday." Then Chen Ke turned his head, "Sister Qiu, so this Hua Juren is still your relative."

Qiu Jin has much more social experience than Chen Ke, and upon hearing this, she knew that Chen Ke was unwilling to be disadvantaged in terms of seniority.Qiu Jin couldn't help laughing at this childish behavior. "Wenqing, you don't have to be polite. Xiongmao is my cousin's son. You can call him brother Hua or sister Qiu, whatever. I won't take advantage of you, and I won't let you take advantage of Xiongmao. Everyone Feel free to."

"Sister Qiu, I grew up overseas, and I basically don't know the etiquette in China. I don't know how to call each other in China?" Chen Ke quickly replied.

"You can just call him Brother Hua. Don't call him Brother Hua directly. Otherwise, you should be honest with each other. Xiongmao, Chen Kezi Wenqing, Wenqing, Xiongmao is Zhenglan."

"Thank you, Sister Qiu, for seeing me." Chen Ke hurriedly thanked her.

After hearing this, Hua Xiongmao just smiled. "Brother Chen, is Wenqing?" Chen Ke nodded, "Brother Hua, my surname is Chen, my name is Ke, and my name is Wenqing."

Everyone was seated again, Xu Xilin said: "Xiong Mao, you and Wen Qing have some misunderstandings, I originally called you here to mediate. But according to what you said, you met again yesterday. It seems that the past is still settled. That's good. "

After hearing this, Chen Ke finally understood why Xu Xilin stayed at the door for so long.It turned out that he was helping him mediate at the door. Although Chen Ke was not afraid of Hua Xiongmao, it was not a good thing to offend a martial artist for nothing.

Hua Xiongmao said with a smile. "Uncle, you also know that what I hate the most are fake foreign devils and those who believe in foreign religions. Yesterday we drank and chatted. Brother Chen is neither a fake foreign devil nor a believer in foreign religions. There is no misunderstanding."

"That's good, that's good." Xu Xilin reluctantly said in a cheerful tone.

Hua Xiongmao felt that the atmosphere was not right, so he asked, "Uncle, do you have anything to discuss with Brother Chen? Then I will visit another day."

"There's no need to change the day. I, your Aunt Qiu, and Wen Qing will go to Shanghai in the next two days. If you have other things, talk about it now." Xu Xilin replied.

After hearing Xu Xilin's words, Chen Ke was overjoyed.Hua Xiongmao had a happy expression on his face, "How about I go to Shanghai with everyone?"

The team from Shaoxing to Shanghai was quickly formed, the captain was naturally Xu Xilin, and the three official members were Qiu Jin, Chen Ke, and Hua Xiongmao.Temporary members include Qiu Jin's maid named Lin Jian.There is no train from Shaoxing to Shanghai, let alone long-distance buses.On the way to the pier, Xu Xilin told everyone that he hired a big boat yesterday and expected to arrive in Shanghai in three or four days.Hearing the time of three or four days, Chen Ke just nodded.It takes only a few hours to travel from Shaoxing to Shanghai by train.The gap in the efficiency of action is a bit outrageous.

Qiu Jin was very happy, "Wen Qing, it's time to talk."

The early summer of 1905 was far less hot than the summer of the 21st century, and the cabin was still quite cool.Looking out of the window, there are crops on both sides of the river bank, and occasionally you can see the waterwheel turning slowly, and the farmers in the farmland are immersed in the farm work, which is really a bit of a landscape painting.The river is not too wide, and there are many boats on the river, but most of them are small boats.Chen Ke has seen many scenes like this in TV and movies, but Chen Ke, who grew up on the edge of the Yellow River, took a boat in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, where the water network is densely covered, and it really felt very novel.

Seeing Chen Ke staring out of the window intently, Qiu Jin asked, "Wen Qing, how is the scenery?"

"I have never seen such a beautiful scenery before. I have never been on a boat." Chen Ke replied casually.

"The scenery is so beautiful, but the country is so dilapidated. Wen Qing has no idea." Xu Xilin continued.According to what he meant, he was still ready to take the revolutionary plan out of Chen Ke's mouth.

Chen Ke turned around, since he decided to cooperate with Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin, Chen Ke felt that at least there must be a certain basis for cooperation.He thought for a long time yesterday, and he probably settled on a bottom line of what he can say and what he can't say. "Brother Bosun, the price of cotton has increased a lot in the past two years?"

"Eh?" Xu Xilin didn't understand what was going on with Chen Ke's inappropriate answer.

"In the past few years, more and more textile factories have been opened, and more and more ports for foreigners to trade in China. Domestic cotton is either exported or used locally. The demand for cotton is increasing, but the total amount of cotton production No increase. So the price of cotton is getting higher and higher.”

Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin looked at each other after hearing this. Chen Ke's words were reasonable, but they had never investigated the price of cotton.

"Indeed." Hua Xiongmao interrupted.

"Xiong Mao, how do you know the price of cotton?" Qiu Jin asked.

"Some time ago, I was transporting cotton with a few friends. On the way, the friend kept complaining about the sharp rise in cotton prices. That's why I found out." Hua Xiongmao replied calmly.

Hearing Hua Xiongmao's words, Chen Ke felt a little strange that Hua Xiongmao was a martial artist, but he also participated in the cotton transportation activity.But after thinking about it, Jiangsu and Zhejiang have a strong business atmosphere, and it's not unusual for Hua Xiongmao to do some business.At this time, Xu Xilin asked: "Then what did Wen Qing want to say?"

"Cotton production didn't increase, cotton use increased, and cotton prices rose."

"What does this have to do with the revolution?" Xu Xilin was confused.

"I think the government that the revolution wants to establish is a government that can manage these things. For example, if you open a cotton spinning factory, the workers have to eat, and you have to provide food? If you open a cotton spinning factory, you have to have cotton, and the price of cotton High, the cost of this cloth is naturally high. The price of foreign cloth is lower than that of Chinese cloth, so you can’t compare with foreign cloth in the market. These problems can’t be solved, so I invested a lot of money in textile factories. But the price can’t compare For foreign cloth, the cloth produced by oneself can’t be sold, and if you can’t make money, you will lose money. There is no need to make money-losing business.” Chen Ke thinks that his answer is enough.

After hearing this explanation, Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin began to think about what Chen Ke said.

After a while, Hua Xiongmao suddenly asked, "Wen Qing wants the country to open a textile factory?"

Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin felt suddenly enlightened after hearing this. They were only dazed by Chen Ke's words about cost calculation, but they didn't even notice the premise proposed by Chen Ke.Chen Ke actually wants the state to bear the burden of growing grain, growing cotton, opening textile factories, and organizing workers.

"This, this..., Wen Qing, you revolution..." What Chen Ke said made Xu Xilin very unacceptable. "Our revolution is for the sake of China. After this revolution, we should retire after the revolution and let the people decide for themselves. Your revolution, Wen Qing, is not about retiring after success. It is about going to a higher level."

Hearing Xu Xilin's words "the people decide for themselves", Chen Ke couldn't help but sigh in his heart.Many, many people in Chinese history have said similar things, such as "pleading for the people's life" and opposing "competing with the people for profit".But which one of these people does not represent the interests of the propertied people? When is this "people" not a landlord and businessman of the propertied class?

And these property owners, they have always put their own economic interests first.These days, Chen Ke kept thinking about the political knowledge he had learned. There was a sentence in it that he thought made sense, "The petty bourgeoisie is the most reactionary." When the overall view is broader.The interests of the petty bourgeoisie are limited to their own one-third of an acre of land, and their considerations are both narrow and stubborn.If the mainstream of the country is the petty bourgeoisie, it will really be a disaster.

But at least Xu Xilin didn't understand the meaning in Chen Ke's words that the state wanted to deprive the landlords of their land ownership, Chen Ke thought to himself.If Xu Xilin understood the meaning of this layer, I don't know what he would think.To put it bluntly now, Chen Ke needs to rely on Xu Xilin. If there is a conflict in the theory of revolution and Xu Xilin is annoyed, it will be hard to say what happened next.Now, on the one hand, Xu Xilin had to be convinced that Chen Ke was the real revolutionary party, and on the other hand, Xu Xilin had to have expectations of himself in the absence of a full-scale conflict.Only in this way can the cooperation be carried out.

Thinking of these things, Chen Ke replied: "Brother Bosun, I also said that my ideal revolution is not to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty. It is to overthrow the old Chinese system. Before this is achieved, , the revolution is not considered a success. In my opinion, it is the right way for the country to manage these things. In the past, it was completely inappropriate for the imperial power not to come down to the county."

These words have gone beyond Xu Xilin's imagination. As a patriotic and passionate young man, Xu Xilin feels that if the current Manchu Qing government, which is disastrous to the country and the people, is wiped out, China can enter a beautiful new era.Xu Xilin never thought about the issue of system building in the new era raised by Chen Ke.After hearing what Chen Ke said now, Xu Xilin felt that it was reasonable, but he couldn't tell what was going on. Xu Xilin had an inexplicable sense of resistance to what Chen Ke said.

Qiu Jin listened to the conversation between the two and remained silent.Emotionally, Qiu Jin was naturally more inclined to Xu Xilin, but Chen Ke's words made Qiu Jin feel more reasonable.Hua Xiongmao was very interested in this, so he interrupted and asked: "The new system that Wen Qing mentioned, what will this official system be like. Is it still the imperial examination?"

Chen Ke was very surprised by Hua Xiongmao's words, and he couldn't help staring at Hua Xiongmao for a while.Perhaps Hua Xiongmao is a member of the military examination system, and in a sense he is still an insider in the system, so he is more sensitive to the system than Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin. The imperial examinations select not officials, but officials."

"Ah? Then how about the exam?" Hua Xiongmao could get to the point every time he asked.

"The content of the exam is not the Four Books and Five Classics, but mathematics, physics, chemistry, nature, etc. The most important thing is that the country establishes schools, and all children must receive education. Everyone has the opportunity to take the imperial examination."

"How are officials selected? Are they selected from among the officials?" Hua Xiongmao became more interested.

At this time, Chen Ke was no longer admiring Hua Xiongmao, but rather wary.But it is really surprising to meet such a sensible person. Chen Ke replied: "Brother Hua Shi is right. From now on, this official will be a good official. He will be promoted gradually."

"Then the official administration is what Wenqing said is in charge of farming, cotton planting, and factory opening?" Hua Xiongmao said here, his face was full of joy.

"Could it be that Brother Hua is a revolutionary party?" Chen Ke didn't know what to say anymore.

"I'm not a revolutionary party. I'm just completely disappointed with the government. Although I passed the military examination, I have no place to serve the country at all." Hua Xiongmao said with a smile: "Wen Qing, the reason why I hate fake foreign devils is because Because when the fake foreign devils I saw talk about how backward China is and how powerful foreign countries are. Those who believe in foreign religions even use the influence of foreign devils to do evil. The group of people in the imperial court set up literary and military exercises, but it is completely different. You can’t serve the country even if you pass the Juren examination. The martial arts examination has been bad for so many years, so I won’t talk about it. This Wenju used to be stereotyped and read the article, but now the stereotype only depends on whether your handwriting is good. The article is not at all Important point. After listening to Wen Qing’s words, I think this is the right way for the country.”

Hua Xiongmao's words were so clear, Chen Ke was surprised, "Then why didn't brother Hua apply for the new school?" He asked.

"Even if you graduate from the new school, you will only become a private disciple of those who run the school. I can't do that. My family is not short of this money, and I can do business with my friends without worrying about food and clothing. I am a slave to others. I really can't do it." Hua Xiongmao replied.

There are really all kinds of people in this world, Chen Ke sighed in his heart.I thought Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin, who were revolutionaries, could understand their own revolutionary thinking, but they never expected that Hua Xiongmao, a martial artist, would be more accepting of the bureaucratic system constructed by Chen Ke.If people like Hua Xiongmao are brought under their banner, the revolutionary cause can really be carried forward.

At this level, Chen Ke felt that there was no need to talk about revolution, so he changed the topic to modern scientific and technological knowledge.Both Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin were interested in assassinating high-ranking Manchu and Qing officials, and Chen Ke described the chemical principles and production methods of the bomb.And various precautions for storage, transportation and use.In order to prevent the two revolutionaries from being sent to the sky by his own bomb, Chen Ke gave them preliminary chemical knowledge training.Chen Ke wrote various equations fluently, which looked like ghostly symbols to Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin.Facing the two people full of frustration, Chen Ke said: "When we make money, we will open a school. At that time, the two of you can learn these things completely in the school."

The closer you get to Shanghai, the more lively it is on the water.On the third morning, I saw a familiar and unfamiliar building with a tall chimney emitting thick smoke.Chen Ke has seen many chimneys, and he often climbed these tall equipment when he was young, but he has not seen them in the city for many years.As one of the few industrial centers in China, Shanghai has concentrated a considerable proportion of industrial enterprises.The closer to Shanghai, the more chimneys these factories have.

Not only that, but the number of ships is also increasing.The bustling Shanghai not only concentrates factories, but also concentrates a large number of workers.As an important foreign city in China, business is also prosperous.Of course, there are also negative effects. The closer to Shanghai, the worse the water quality.There was an unpleasant smell wafting across the river.Chen Ke, who wanted to see the scenery, was forced back into the cabin.

There were crowds of people on the pier, and the soliciting voices of various local accents kept coming and going.Those who live in stores, deliver goods, and laborers in short jackets are all trying to attract business for a day's rations.Except for the different means of transportation, there is no essential difference from modern stations.After getting off the boat, Chen Ke felt that his feet were weak, and the whole ground seemed to be shaking.Hua Xiongmao smiled, and took Chen Ke's huge travel bag, "It seems that Wen Qing doesn't take boats very much."

"I made everyone laugh." Chen Ke said as he wanted to take back his bag.

"Cut. Why are you being so polite?" Hua Xiongmao said.Then he turned his head and shouted loudly: "A few cars here." There were already rickshaw drivers coming this way with empty cars. come over.

Xu Xilin didn't want to waste money, so he finally hired a big car and took everyone to the city.

Chen Ke is still wearing the same clothes in Shaoxing, but no one pays attention here.Suits and leather shoes are not a rare sight in Shanghai.The shops on both sides of the road are next to each other, there are many pedestrians, and beggars can be seen everywhere on the street.This bustling and bustling Chinese city is exactly as recorded in history.

Chen Ke didn't remember the way very well. Xu Xilin led everyone to the place where the Shanghai Restoration Association was staying after walking through the streets and alleys. As soon as they entered the door, they heard someone shouting, "Bosun, when did you come to Shanghai?" Go up and talk to the man.In addition to giving lectures to everyone these days, Chen Ke also learned some southern dialect. He vaguely understood that Xu Xilin called that person Tao Gong. Looking carefully, this Mr. Tao in a long gown gave him the feeling that the word "round" .He has a round figure and a round face, but his brows are deep and he looks heroic.

The two talked for a while, and Xu Xilin introduced to both parties.This Mr. Tao is called Tao Chengzhang.Chen Ke had some impressions of this name, but he couldn't recall too many details. It should be a well-known figure in the Restoration Society.When Xu Xilin introduced himself, he was a little vague, just saying that Chen Ke came back from studying in the United States.Tao Chengzhang saluted with everyone one by one, with a very sincere attitude.It seems that they often walk around outside to make friends.

"Tao Gong, we want to see Cai Gong. I wonder if Cai Gong is free now." Xu Xilin asked.

After hearing this, Tao Chengzhang showed a slightly embarrassed look on his face, "Mr. Cai is currently negotiating with those people from the Tongmenghui. I'm afraid it won't work these days."

"Then we can wait." Xu Xilin replied, "Mr. Tao, do you have any friends in Shanghai who know foreigners in the concession?"

Tao Chengzhang was stunned. Everyone knew that Xu Xilin didn't like foreigners. Few members of the Restoration Association liked dealing with foreigners.Unexpectedly, Xu Xilin would directly want to have something to do with foreign firms in the concession this time, which was beyond Tao Chengzhang's expectation.After thinking for a while, Tao Chengzhang said, "I know a man named You Gou, you can find him."

"Where can I find this Mr. You?"

"Guangyuan Tavern."

"..."

Guangyuan Tavern is located on Baochang Road, which is the middle section of Xiafei Road. The sign on the door is neither new nor old, and it looks like it hasn't been wiped for a long time.The front door is not big, and it is afternoon, so there are few customers inside.When Chen Ke, Xu Xilin, and Hua Xiongmao walked into the hotel, there were only three or four people inside.To be more specific, a Chinese and two foreigners sat at a table, and the boss stood at the counter, and there were only a few people.

According to Tao Chengzhang, this Mr. Yougou often spends his days getting drunk at Guangyuan Hotel recently.Speaking of this person, Tao Chengzhang had an indescribable taste in his expression.Half sympathy, half disdain.Chen Ke carefully looked at the few people in the hotel, he couldn't help blinking, and looked carefully again.The Chinese who was with the foreign devil turned out to be a woman in a satin dress and long braids.The three of them were talking in English. The woman seemed to have drunk a lot. She put her left arm on the table and supported her cheek with her small fist. Her tone of voice changed a little.The three of them were not talking fast, Chen Ke listened, and probably the foreigners wanted to invite the Chinese lady to play somewhere, but the lady disagreed.

Chen Ke didn't want to delay things too much, so he walked quickly to the shopkeeper and asked, "Shopkeeper, is there a Mr. Yougou who often comes here to drink?" , without waiting for him to say anything.Chen Ke heard the lady behind him say in English: "What?"

"We are looking for a Mr. You Gou." Xu Xilin interrupted.

"Mr. Yougou, there is no such person. Miss. Yougou, there is one." The lady said in English.

"Oh." Chen Ke blinked again, "You are Ms. Yougou?"

The two foreigners were obviously dissatisfied with the interruption of the conversation, and one of them stood up and said in English: "We are talking, you get out first." At least Chen Ke understood "getout" as a not-so-kind expression.Just as he was thinking about how to respond, he saw the lady turn around.Chen Ke originally thought that what he saw should be a drunken face, but what caught his eyes was a pair of sober and calm Danfeng eyes.But this is only a momentary impression, the gaze in those Danfeng eyes is gloomy and persistent, under normal circumstances, there should never be such gazes.

"You are Mr. You Gou?" Chen Ke wanted to make sure.Before the lady could reply, the foreign devil was getting impatient.Of course, maybe they were already impatient.Now that he found an excuse, he started to scare Chen Ke.

"Shut up!" cried the lady, taking a cylinder from her pocket and slapping it on the table.Chen Ke glanced at it, and it looked like a paper tube.Not a detonator, Chen Ke thought.

The foreign devil reached out to grab any paper tube, and the lady grabbed a chopstick and stabbed at the back of the foreign devil's hand.The foreign devil withdrew his hand very quickly, and the bamboo chopsticks hit the table with a crisp sound, and then broke.The already tense atmosphere was completely detonated at this time. The two foreign devils stood up at the same time, and the one who was closest to the Chinese lady stretched out his hand to push the lady.Chen Ke took a step forward and slapped the foreign devil's palm away with his backhand.

"Who are you?" the foreign devil asked angrily.

Chen Ke stared at them and said word by word:

"I"

"am"

"your"

"father!"

There was a sudden silence in the store, whether it was understood or not.Several people looked at each other, "Ahahaha!" The lady suddenly burst into laughter.After laughing a few times, I felt that it was not enough, so I just beat the table with my small fist.At this moment, the anger of the two foreign devils exploded completely, and one of them yelled some curse words, and then rushed over.Chen Ke was ready to stop a long time ago, when the foreign devil started to attack, he swung his fist violently towards the foreign devil's nose.

Xu Xilin was stunned for a moment and stood on the spot, while Hua Xiongmao laughed, shouted, and rushed forward.

Three minutes later, Hua Xiongmao lifted his right leg and kicked the foreign devil who was lying on the ground. "What should we do next?" he asked.

Chen Ke lifted his left foot from the chest of another foreign devil, thought for a while, and then stepped back. "Excuse me, is that Ms. Yougou over there?"

The Chinese lady just stopped smiling at this time, seeing Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao's behavior, she couldn't help laughing again, and nodded while laughing.

"I heard that you know foreigners from the foreign firm, could it be these two people?" Chen Ke asked with a smile.

"Unfortunately, not these two people." Ms. You Gou replied in English.

"Why use English?" Chen Ke asked strangely.

"Because I speak Jiangsu and Zhejiang dialect, I'm afraid you won't understand." Ms. You Gou replied in a drunken voice in English.

"Then can you understand what I said?" Chen Ke was even more surprised.

"I can understand your accent." Still in English.

"Let's talk in another place." Chen Ke said with a smile.

"Okay!" After the lady finished speaking, she stood up gracefully, "Where are you going?" It was still in English.