1905: Beer Hall Speaker

Page 3

As for expelling the great powers, that's easy to understand. There's no other way; your strength only allows you to expel them. Do you really want to be like Empress Dowager Cixi and declare war on more than a dozen great powers at once?

No country on this planet has the power to eliminate the great powers, not even if the British Empire turned against you and helped you!

It was that same reckless guy again: "Brother, this isn't a proper three-shot routine, how about another one?"

Zhao Yan got angry and handed him the pen directly: "Come on, you write it, okay?"

The brash guy immediately wilted, lowered his head, and remained silent.

The platform was written down, the party name was confirmed, and all that was left was to add a few articles to the party constitution, stipulating the rights and obligations of every member of the Revival Party, as well as a considerable amount of relevant party discipline.

Zhao Yan would discuss each clause with everyone before writing it down, and he wrote it very meticulously, just like a law.

"Brother, what's going on here that this infringes on private property rights?" the rough-and-tumble guy asked.

Zhao Yan waved his hand and said, "You absolutely cannot double-cross someone!"

The roughneck nodded in realization: "I see, that works!"

"Brother, what does it mean that all Party members must be united and that unity is strength?"

Zhao Yan was completely convinced and resigned himself to his fate, saying, "No infighting among yourselves!"

The brute had reached a new level of enlightenment: "I understand!"

Zhao Yan was furious: "Who the hell are you? How can you just say you've attained enlightenment like that?"

"Brother, I'm Zhao Hao. You said yesterday that I have a talent for revolution!"

Zhao Yan was completely speechless: "So it's Brother Ritian! My apologies for not recognizing you!"

After determining the party's name, constitution, and purpose, Zhao Yan felt something was missing. He immediately realized that a flag was missing. How could everyone swear to join without a party flag?

It was troublesome to find one on short notice, and in the end, Zhao Hao, this brute, pulled out a piece of red cloth. It was square with pointed ends. Zhao Yan felt something was strange, but he didn't ask any questions.

"Just red is too monotonous. Does anyone have some ink? Bring it over!"

"Here you go, big brother, I have some!"

Zhao Yan took the ink and immediately splashed it on the flag, turning it black. Instantly, a flag that was half red and half black was born, which was also the first party flag of the Revival Party.

"Brother, what does this mean?"

Zhao Yan explained, "Red represents blood, and black represents steel, symbolizing iron and blood. Only iron and blood can forge a revolution and create a new nation!"

"Alright, stop dawdling. Hang up the Party flag, everyone come over and take the oath to join! Hurry up and get through the process, we still need to eat after this!"

Soon everyone hurriedly hung the Party flag on the wall, and then everyone lined up in an orderly row and recited the oath with Zhao Yan.

During the oath-taking ceremony, Zhao Yan appeared somewhat nonchalant. He didn't believe that a political party established so casually could accomplish anything significant. In his view, it was just a trick to fool these young people.

Just as girls appreciate a sense of ritual, boys need it even more, but not in the form of gifts or red envelopes; rather, it's a solemn oath imbued with a strong sense of historical mission.

Everyone except Zhao Yan took an extremely serious and solemn oath, and each person kept the oath firmly in their heart. In those days, oaths still had a certain degree of validity.

After taking the oath, Zhao Yan stared at the Party flag and suddenly felt something was wrong. He hadn't noticed it before, but now he could vaguely see faded marks on the red cloth, which looked like mandarin ducks playing in the water.

"The oath is complete!" Zhao Yan put down his hand, walked to the Party flag, rubbed the red cloth with his hand, and smelled it. A familiar fragrance entered his nostrils.

Zhao Hao, standing to the side, said somewhat embarrassedly, "You found out, brother. This is the undergarment I took from my lover last night."

Zhao Hao's vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground, murmuring in the weakest voice, "This is the first Party secret that everyone needs to keep!"

Chapter 5 Let's have a revolution, young people!

After the oath-taking ceremony, the first batch of 34 members took the oath to join the Revival Party under the party flag, including 33 Chinese members and one foreign French member.

September 12, 1905, is a day that no one cares about at this moment, but perhaps it will not be so many years later.

"Everyone copy the Party Constitution, memorize it, and everyone must be able to recite it. Then we'll explain the content in Party classes."

After finishing his work, Zhao Yan relapsed into his old habits, taking out the same methods he used when he was running a pyramid scheme, writing and memorizing them, and then giving lectures to brainwash people. If things went smoothly, it would only take a week or two to finish. If someone was difficult to brainwash, he would have to do it several times.

Wu Zifu volunteered to record all the party members' information, which was then filed and sealed. No party badges or party membership cards were issued to any of them; the only proof of their party membership was the party member information file written by Wu Zifu.

These files are the first batch of classified documents of the Revival Party. Members could not take them away; they could only keep them.

Zhao Yan didn't know what to do, but since he was being treated to good food and drink, he decided to stay and start lecturing and brainwashing the group.

It has been proven that in an environment where no large-scale anti-fraud campaign has been conducted, it is extremely easy to brainwash passionate young people.

Zhao Yan only taught them for five days, and this group of people learned how to run a pyramid scheme... cough cough... it should be called running a revolution!

On September 17, the first plenary meeting of the Revival Party was held at the Tongfu Inn in the foreign concession.

The meeting was chaired by Zhao Yan. The first item on the agenda was to establish the party's organizational structure, starting with the Executive Committee, which is the highest decision-making core of the Revival Party. Everyone unanimously elected Zhao Yan as the president of the Executive Committee, serving as the party leader and head.

Under the Executive Committee are five main departments: the Organization Department, the Discipline Department, the Finance Department, the Armed Forces Department, and the Intelligence Department. Wu Zifu serves as the Minister of the Organization Department.

Wu Zifu was born to be the organization minister. It was he who finally rallied so many people to block Zhao Yan the next day for the beer hall speech. He also handled the subsequent party member registration and file retention.

The Discipline Department is headed by Zhang Xinghua, a skinny guy. He's full of enthusiasm but also very principled, making him the most suitable person to manage the Discipline Department, especially since he excels at studying the Party Constitution and Party regulations.

The Ministry of Finance—this position is exclusively for Fatty Liu Shangsheng. The reason? It must be because Liu Shangsheng is fair and honest. It certainly wasn't chosen for him because his father was a salt merchant in Yangzhou!

The position in the Armed Forces Department belongs to Wang Dingyun. He is quite skilled and has a military air about him, making him a good fit. Of course, part of the reason is that his father is a deputy commander in a certain unit of the New Army in the Huguang region.

The intelligence department was handed over to Qiu Xingxun, the least noticeable and inconspicuous member of the Five Lucky Stars, whom Zhao Yan had almost forgotten existed.

There are also two special talents: the reckless Zhao Hao and the foreign party member Jean Sinor. Zhao Yan arranged for the former to be the captain of the action team. Zhao Hao, this reckless guy, likes to take action, so let him take action to his heart's content.

As for Jean Sinor, the Frenchman who was a foreign party member, Zhao Yan couldn't get rid of him in a short time, so he gave him a special party representative position and let him go around the concession on his own, just to act in accordance with the party constitution.

After confirming the party organization structure, the second agenda item was to discuss and deploy the party's development plan.

This is important because Zhao Yan wants to send everyone out, far away, so that he can make his escape.

Otherwise, with so many people surrounding him every day, if he were to attract the Qing government's wrath one day, he wouldn't be able to escape. Only by sending them all away would he have a chance to slip away.

Zhao Yan asked Wu Zifu to lead a few people to develop Party members outside the organization department. He instructed them to strictly select members according to the requirements of the Party Constitution, preferring quality over quantity. Zhao Yan specifically instructed them not to be afraid of wasting time, as slow and steady wins the race!

Zhang Xinghua's Discipline Department also has a task: to lead people to inspect all Party members and departments, to supervise whether they have violated the Party Constitution and Party discipline. Wherever the Party organization goes, they must also follow to investigate. All new Party members must be reviewed by them for at least three months before they can become full members.

The task of the Armed Forces Department is also very important. Zhao Yan specifically instructed Wang Dingyun to return to his hometown and infiltrate his father's new army with his men to develop the "Party Guard Army," which is the Party's core armed force and the key to the future revolution.

Zhao Yan instructed them to keep it a secret after returning, to act as if nothing had happened, and not to expose their own and the Party's existence, even if they could not develop the army.

In fact, Zhao Yan thought that after this young master went back, he would definitely live a good life as a second-generation military officer, and he would calm down and forget about this matter in a few days.

Zhao Yan from the Intelligence Department also gave them a task: to collect intelligence on the Qing regime and all kinds of foreign powers, regardless of their status. As long as they were potential enemies of the Party's future revolution, their intelligence had to be collected, no matter how small.

This is also a very time-consuming task; once Zhao Yan sends someone out, they won't be able to return for a short period of time.

Last but not least, and most importantly, there's the Ministry of Finance, and Finance Minister Liu Shangsheng, that chubby fellow. Zhao Yan didn't intend to send him away; instead, he planned to personally accompany him to his hometown of Yangzhou.

All talk of revolution and bloodshed is meaningless. Let's go to Yangzhou and enjoy ourselves first. Zhao Yan claimed that he was going to help Liu Shangsheng raise funds for the Party.

While Zhao may not be able to amass a fortune, he certainly won't lack for riches and honors when he returns to his hometown of Yangzhou with his devoted admirer Liu Shangsheng.

"The revolution is not yet complete; you all must continue your efforts!"

"The establishment of our Revival Party is not only a small step for us, but also a giant leap for Chinese civilization. If we can liberate the enslaved Chinese people, can we also continue to liberate the enslaved people of other countries in the future?"

In conclusion, our cause is great, selfless, and noble!

As long as we take action, are not afraid of death and suffering, and adhere to our inner beliefs and principles, we will surely succeed, for this is the irresistible tide of history, and no one can stop it. Our mission is to propel this wave of history to sweep everything away!

"The meeting is now adjourned. I hereby declare the meeting adjourned!"

Everyone stood up excitedly, looking at Zhao Yan sitting on the bed in the middle, their eyes filled with surging emotions and reverence. In their hearts, Zhao Yan was already a god.

In just a few days, he led them to establish a political party from scratch, and they have already begun to take action.

They had been lost for over a decade without finding their life goals, but after meeting Zhao Yan, they found them in just a few days, and even formed an organization.

Zhao Yan seemed to have prepared everything in advance, and when the time came, he immediately took it out.

Every Party member was frantically imagining what kind of revolutionary Zhao Yan was, that he could come up with such a perfect revolutionary plan all by himself.

What exactly did Zhao Yan experience over the years that made him so wise and courageous? Such a person is simply a born leader. He can not only talk eloquently, but also answer your questions and guide you step by step, teaching you how to carry out a revolution.

"Take care, Mr. President! We will certainly live up to your expectations when we meet again!"

Before leaving the inn, each Party member would find Zhao Yan and bow to him respectfully.

Everyone understood that it wasn't that Zhao Yan couldn't live without them, but rather that they couldn't live without Zhao Yan. A person like Zhao Yan, even if he left them, could rebuild a political party anywhere.

If they were to leave Zhao Yan's leadership, they would be like a pile of loose sand and headless flies running around aimlessly. Without Zhao Yan's leadership and guidance, they would have no idea what to do.

Therefore, everyone held Zhao Yan, the revolutionary mentor, in the highest esteem, and even Zhao Hao, a rough man, was teary-eyed before parting.

But Zhao Yan was getting impatient and kept shooing them out: "You're all grown men, why are you putting on this act? It's not like we're parting ways or dying, we'll see each other again next time, get lost!"

Thus, a group of young men with an average age of less than twenty-five suddenly shouldered an unexpected historical mission and the fate of the nation, embarking on an unknown journey.

The instigator, Zhao Yan, was indifferent to the whole thing. He believed that these young people were just having a short-lived enthusiasm and that once they went home and lived normal lives for a couple of days, they would forget about it and go back to their ordinary lives.

Zhao Yan, being new to the country, did not believe in the passion and enthusiasm of these young people in this era, nor did he understand the extent to which they would go to change the country.

But at least for now, Zhao Yan can still easily wave his fist at these young people who are about to embark on their journeys far away and shout, "Let's have a revolution, young people!"

Chapter 6: The Incompetent Teammate Unleashes His Power!

"Boss, when do we start our operation?" Liu Changsheng was full of passion and energy, his young body seemingly brimming with inexhaustible strength.

“Yeah, boss, everyone else in the other groups has a task, so we need to get moving too!” The remaining four young men were also eager to try.

"Use your job title during work hours! What's with all this talk of seniority and juniority? Should we give you a double-flower red pole award?"

"We are a political party, revolutionaries! Not gangsters, much less thugs!" Zhao Yan covered his forehead, completely impressed by these young people. They knew nothing and understood nothing, yet you could just say a few generous words and they would actually believe it.

Young people are the easiest to fool, but also the hardest to stop once they believe you, because once they do, it's easy for them to lose control.

"President, what should we do now? Please tell me."

"Yes, President, at your command, we will all go through fire and water for the revolution and for the new world!"

Zhao Yan gestured for the group of young men to shut up, saying they were being incredibly immature: "Shut up now. Once you step out of the inn, call me Mr. Zhao, and always remember to keep it a secret!"

"Yes, President!"

The group walked out of the inn and onto the street. Zhao Yan asked, "Shang Sheng, you said your family are salt merchants, right? And you also said your father is doing business in Shanghai?"

Fatty was an honest man. When Zhao Yan asked, he immediately answered truthfully: "That's right. My father is at the Huaiyang Tea House in Zhakou District right now. Several of my uncles and elders are also there."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan's eyes immediately lit up. This was fantastic! It wasn't just one target, but a group of targets—a group of salt merchants from the early 20th century!

People only know about the coal bosses of later generations, but they don't know about the salt bosses of the Qing Dynasty. These people were much wealthier than any coal boss. It was only after the Xinhai Revolution that the political situation became increasingly turbulent, and with the encroachment of foreign powers and the warlord conflicts, these salt bosses gradually faded into obscurity.

But now, before the Qing Dynasty collapsed, this group of people was one of the wealthiest groups in China!

"Then what are we waiting for? We're brothers, your father is my father, your uncles are my uncles. He's in Shanghai now, how can we not pay him a visit?" Zhao Yan's fighting spirit was burning brightly. If this job goes well, he can live off his profits for three years!

The other young men were also from wealthy families. Upon hearing Zhao Yan's idea, they immediately started talking about their own families and welcomed Zhao Yan to visit them at any time.

In those days, which young person could live happily in the concessions without having powerful connections? How could someone without money or influence possibly live happily in the concessions?

Faced with such lucrative offers, Zhao Yan didn't let them go and agreed to them all. He also said that he would hold a fundraising speech for the Revival Party at the Huaiyang Tea House, and everyone could invite their elders to come and listen.

Who are the first targets of pyramid schemes? Of course, it's their relatives and friends! Zhao Yan himself doesn't have any, but his brothers do. And his brothers' relatives and friends are his own relatives and friends.

Liu Shangsheng took Zhao Yan to the Huaiyang Teahouse, while the others went home to invite their elders. Zhao Yan instructed them to invite the elders in charge, preferably the ones who directly managed the money. The few silly boys nodded and patted their chests to vouch for them.

Without exchanging a word, Zhao Yan followed Liu Changsheng to the Huaiyang Teahouse, an antique building located outside the concession area. It featured flying eaves, brackets, red walls, and floral patterns, with two stone lions standing in front of the door.

The plaque at the top of the main gate bears the four large characters "Huaiyang Tea House" in gold lettering, written in a vigorous and elegant style that clearly belongs to a master calligrapher.

With Liu Shangsheng, the landlord's foolish son, leading the way, Zhao Yan entered the gate without any hindrance, just like a chick leading a weasel back to its burrow.

Upon entering, there is a courtyard. On the courtyard terrace, which is more than ten meters long and wide, there are some tables. Groups of wealthy merchants sit at the tables and enjoy tea. To the west, there is a stage where a female performer sits and plays the zither, humming melodious tunes.

As Liu Shangsheng led Zhao Yan near a table, a similarly chubby middle-aged man at the table stood up, pointed at him, and cursed, "You little rascal, where have you been gallivanting these past few days? I had the butler look for you everywhere, but you didn't leave a single word. I thought you'd died in the Huangpu River!"

Liu Shangsheng blushed, glanced back at Zhao Yan, who nodded slightly. Then Liu Shangsheng mustered his courage: "Father, I didn't go fooling around. I went to do something important!"

The three uncles at the table burst into laughter upon hearing this. Everyone knew that Liu Yongfu's eldest son, Liu Changsheng, was a fool. He was usually easily fooled by maids and servants. It was hilarious to hear that he was going to do something important.

"Haha, that's truly commendable! It's rare to find someone like Shang Sheng who has the ambition to accomplish great things!"

"Old Liu, your son has been holding back for so many years, he's finally about to make a name for himself, haha!"

Liu Yongfu was embarrassed and his anger intensified: "You wretched child, you know nothing about the family business, you came to Shanghai, wandered around the concession for a few days, looked at foreign women for a few days, and then you told me you were going to do something big."

Your most important task is to quickly give me a few grandsons to continue the family line. I'm not counting on you in this life; I'm just hoping that one of my legitimate grandsons will be successful!

Liu Shangsheng is a young man, and young people can't stand being cricketed like that in public.

"Father, you may look down on me, but you cannot look down on our Revival Party. We are revolutionaries."