"My lord, this is today's newspaper, it seems that the matter of "Su Bao" has made a big fuss." He Dazhuang delivered the newspaper to Wu Chenxuan's dining table, and the deputy captain Wang Kai once again had to stop the newspaper boy who was so frightened that he was hiding in Tibet, and forced him to give him a few copper races, so as not to be misunderstood and read the overlord newspaper again. There is no way, when those skinny newsboys buy newspapers in the face of tall people and bears, their first reaction is to run quickly, and those who can't run away tremblingly hand over a copy of today's "Declaration", and they don't even dare to mention the word money.

Wu Chenxuan and his entourage took Huang Xinpei and Zhang Nanjiang, who had just been abducted, to Hangzhou, and were entertained by a group of members of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce in turn, and were taken to Moganshan by Mr. Lu and the Rong brothers to escape the summer, and they were very casual for a few days. During the period, Xue Nanming and other rookies of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce of Yongtai Silk Factory also talked about speculation, if it were not for the progress of the "Su Bao" case, maybe live in West Lake for a month, and taste the charm of West Lake Longjing.

As early as the end of June, there were reports in the Shanghai newspapers that "the Patriotic Society summoned unscrupulous people to advocate revolutionary heresy," "Zhang Renjun led Fengting to send Wei Guangtao's telegram to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," and "Suppressed and banned secret affairs." Zhang Renjun was the governor of Huguang and Wei Guangtao was the governor of Liangjiang, and it was said that "Qin Fengting sent a telegram to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present Wei Guangtao," indicating that it was "sent from above." It was also rumored that "the consul general of Shanghai and the United States will sign and hold it together with each other, and the public ministry bureau will allow it to be accepted." The gossip does not seem to be groundless. The Qing court used the "Su Bao" as "ridiculous and unscrupulous, and the trouble was not small", and specially instructed the beauty Fu Kaisen to "cut the business and lead the way, and ensure that the museum is immediately closed". In early July, Yuan Shuxun of Shanghai Province visited the British and American consuls in person and plotted to suppress them.

Under the reminder of Wu Chenxuan and the covert help of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce, the Restoration Association also made preparations. Earlier, the Qing government sent Yu Mingzhen, a marquis of Jiangsu, to "inspect the affairs of the revolutionary party", and Wu Jingheng had contact with Yu Mingzhen and his son. Chen Fan, the host of "Su Bao", also fled because of fear, Cai Yuanpei discussed with Zhang Taiyan, "there is no other way to give up", and finally decided that in order to protect the organization of the Restoration Society, Cai Yuanpei first took refuge in other places, and decided whether to go abroad according to the situation, while Zhang Taiyan sat in the newspaper office and waited for "arrest" at any time.

At this time, Wu Chenxuan had already gone down to Moganshan and set off for Shanghai, the "Su Report" was still in progress, the folk discussion was already in full swing, and Wu Chenxuan was also quietly watching the changes. In mid-July, the authorities of the Anglo-American Concession in Shanghai sent Zhang Taiyan, Zou Rong, Cheng Jifu, Qian Yunsheng (a staff member of Su Bao), Chen Zhongyi (Chen Fan's son), and Long Jizhi to the court of the Public Ministry Bureau for trial. The Qing government's accusation of "refuting Kang Youwei's book on revolution" is "a great rebellion": "Since the beginning of Yiwei, the Holy Lord has been worried about it, and those who are not warm at the table will be abolished by the Empress Dowager." Worry about the inside, wisdom outward, know whether to change the law, and there is no way to traffic outsiders to win their favor; Non-traffic outsiders win their favor, and they can't hold the power of the empress dowager hostage. Carrying the clown, not distinguishing the wheat, and taking risks, it is not all for Manchuria". "Those who carry the river are the personal friends of Gu Changsu, and the public enemies of the Han people. What's more, all of Manchuria are as stupid as deer pigs, and those who can not be reformed? Zhang Taiyan sternly reprimanded him in court, pointing out: "In February this year, I was teaching at the Patriotic Society, and because I saw that Kang Youwei wrote a book to oppose the revolution and protect the Manchurians, I wrote a book to refute it." And "confess not to the barbaric government." "The Qing government has hired Cooper and Havato as lawyers," said Sun Jianchen, a member of the Qing government, and the interpreter of the British Consular General's Office. The "Su Bao" case revealed the incompetence and decay of the Qing government to the public through the trial process, which is the main reason why Wu Chenxuan did not take measures to protect the people of Su Bao although he predicted the development of the situation in advance.

At the second trial, "the lawyers Bo Yi and Jones who were extended by Zhang and Zou Zhudang" also appeared in court. Bo Yi said: "Lawyer Gu's request to reschedule the meeting cannot be complied with. If there is an opportunity for cloud negotiation, you may wish to specify who you are dealing with. In the "Statute of the Public Concession", matters within the boundary shall be tried by the public court. Who is the plaintiff now? Is it the government? Or the governor of Jiangsu? Shanghai Daotaiye? Judge Sun Jianchen said: "It is ordered by the governor of Jiangsu to detain him, and this branch government can only act in accordance with the constitution." Lawyer Bo Yi also said: "If the government lawyer cannot point out the crimes committed by Zhang, Zou and others, and cannot specify the matters to be negotiated, he should request that the case be immediately dismissed." Havato refused, saying: "It is still up to the government to negotiate the matter and then the meeting will be scheduled." Sun Jianchen and the British Consular General Office Di translated "all said promises." "Here, the entanglement between the prosecution and defense over the identity of the plaintiff and the application of law is still based on the legal level, and has not yet entered into a substantive head-to-head confrontation.

However, the Qing court obviously would not tolerate the escape of the people of the "Su Bao" under the pretext of the law of the concession, and soon prompted the public ministry bureau of the public concession to "interrogate" Zhang and Zou again. In the "interrogation", Wang Yaoting of Shanghai County pointed out that "as long as the last word is written, the crime is sufficient." Cooper went on to say: "Please read the chapters and other disturbing places, which are intended to expel the Manchurians." If the Chinese listen to such a major matter, the world will not be in chaos." Advocating severe punishment, Wang Yaoting proposed that "it should be dealt with according to Chinese regulations", and Gu Bai also agreed.

Prior to this, the Qing government tried every means to put Zhang and Zou to death. On the charge of "going against the grain, inciting people's minds, and plotting to commit wrongdoing," he attempted to "extradite" Zhang and Zou to Nanjing, where they were sentenced to death. U.S. Minister Conger, Consul General Guna, and Counselor Fockaisen also secretly plotted to "hand over to the Chinese government for punishment" in exchange for more privileges from the Qing government.

However, due to the contradictions in the interests of the great powers in China, and because you agree with our side's opposition to it, you have also a different attitude towards "extradition." According to the "Zhongwai Ribao" on 18 August, "The British counsellors of the local envoys in Beijing thought that they should not be handed over to the Chinese officials because of the case of the Shanghai Su Bao Pavilion, and the Japanese ministers thought that they had not tried to detain them. In the past, the Shanghai Province had a charter with the consuls of various countries, but now it should be handled in accordance with the treaty. However, Russia and France wanted to help the Chinese* government and hand them over to the Chinese officials, so their opinions differed. The U.S. envoy thought that Mo Miao would still hand over the matter to the consul in Shanghai. Although they had different attitudes, there was a consensus on the verdict that the "Su Bao" was guilty, saying that "the pen is sharp against the book, advocating armed revolution, killing Manchus, and denigrating the emperor. ”。 Under the instigation of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce, Chinese businessmen and compradors put pressure on the public ministry under the pretext that the concession failed to protect the interests of the Chinese in the concession, and transferred some public and private assets from the British and American concessions to the French concession.

More than a month has passed, and Wu Chenxuan is no longer willing to continue to grind in Shanghai, so he simply asks the guards of the prison in Shanghai to buy through the public ministry bureau and plan to visit the prison in a few days. At this time, the so-called additional court pronounced that Zhang Taiyan and Zou Rong "should be sentenced to eternal imprisonment", and the consular corps "objected to this" and was indecisive. Zou Rong and Zhang Binglin, the leaders of the Revolutionary Party of the Su Baoguan, were ordered by Wang Yaoting of Shanghai County to drive to the public concessions of Britain, the United States and other countries, together with Deng Mingqian, Sima, and Zhai Binanjun, the interpreter of the British Consulate General, to explain the situation and plan to be sentenced to permanent imprisonment. The day before yesterday, the head arrester ordered Zhang and Zou to be sent to the West Prison on the bank of Tilanqiao for confinement. ”

When he was sentenced to life imprisonment, Zhang Taiyan was quite calm, and Zou Rong became ill because of anger, and his physical condition was not optimistic. On this day, after receiving the news that the warden was going out for a banquet, the prison assistant arranged a time, separated the other prison guards, and a team of black-clothed men dressed like a green gang rushed in and went straight to the prison area of Zhang Zou and the others. If it weren't for the fact that they had checked in advance and didn't carry weapons, the assistants would have regretted it a little, although these guys were silent, but their steps were vigorous, their hands and feet were thick, and they were obviously all practitioners, and what was even more rare was that they all behaved in a certain way, and the orders were forbidden, obviously not from the rivers and lakes, if they changed their hexagram to visit the prison to rob the prison halfway, I am afraid that these dozens of prison guards may not be able to stop them. Just when the assistant regretted it, the prison guard had already opened the iron door of the prison block. The young man at the head made a gesture, and a small bag was stuffed in the hands of the little prison guard by the big man in black behind him, and the assistant's eyes were very poisonous, and this shot was no less than twenty or thirty eagles, thinking that his own three hundred taels of silver would definitely not be counted, and his heart was much more stable.

Qian Yunsheng, Chen Jifu, and Long Jizhi are still awaiting trial at the Ministry of Industry Bureau, and have not yet been "acquitted." Chen Zhongyi was also not "allowed to be handed over to bail to find his father", so the two prisoners in the "Su Bao" case detained in Tilanqiao were Zhang Taiyan and Zou Rong.

"Who are you?" Seeing the assistant waiting for them in the visiting area with more than a dozen black-clothed people, Zhang Taiyan who helped Zou Rong out was very vigilant. "Could it be that you are the lackeys of the Qing court, and you have come to assassinate us."

"If I say that I am an official of the Qing Dynasty, and I wear the second grade, I wonder if the two gentlemen have anything to say to me at this time?" Wu Chenxuan plans to explore the details of these two first, perhaps when facing a life and death decision, he can better see a person's heart.

"Sure enough, it's full of dogs, and today is just a time for you to run rampant. I think that there are countless Han revolutionary fighters, and there will be heroes who will climb the heights in the future, and wait for the dynasty to collapse, and ask for a place to bury but cannot get it. Ahem. Zou Rong's words were still so sharp, but he was weak and had to stop his generous speech and cough.

"In his own country, he has to act according to the faces of foreigners, and today he has to rely on the means of roosters and dogs to assassinate his compatriots. You wait for the court to be despicable, and what face does it have to survive in the world. Zhang Taiyan is also very scathing, but in the face of life and death, he can be regarded as a proud revolutionary literati who can be so righteous and awe-inspiring.

"It's a pity that although Mr. Taiyan and Brother Zou Rong's writing and words are three points to the bone, this court has long been decent. If you don't know that people are cheap, you are invincible, and if this court is shameless, it will be more difficult than a slut. There is no cheapest, only cheaper. Wu Chenxuan was happy when he heard the deathbed declaration of the two. However, his words made the two stunned on the spot, and after mixing for a while, Zhang Taiyan asked tentatively: "Mr. wasn't sent by the imperial court to kill us?" ”

"It's true that the court wants to kill you, and it's true that I'm an official of the court." Seeing that the faces of the two people changed several times, and he felt that it was still better not to tease them, Wu Chenxuan said, "But the imperial court didn't assign the task of killing you to this official, and I have nothing to do." I'm here to see someone's demeanor. ”

"Oh, who do you want to see?" Zhang Taiyan asked.

Far away in front of you, it is a "Revolutionary Army", what a heroic figure is the "pawn of the revolutionary army" who awakens tens of millions of confused young people. ”

"Ah, see me?" Zou Rong originally wanted to see how Mr. Zhang Taiyan played this Qing court official, but he didn't expect that the other party wanted to see him.