On the evening of the closing of the General Restoration Society, not long after Tao Chengzhang saw off Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin, a secret meeting held by more than a dozen Restoration Association bigwigs invited by Cai Yuanpei kicked off. The so-called secret meeting only needs to avoid certain people, such as people from Tao Chengzhang's faction, such as the members of the Restoration Society who are still strongly wary of Beiyang. After these exclusions, the leaders of the Liberation Conference who participated in the meeting showed considerable homogeneity. They were not the first to join the Liberation Society, they were quite accommodating to the revolution, their families were rich, and they were not more than 45 years old.

Unlike in Parliament, where they are unfathomable and reluctant to take a stand, these people seem shrewd and capable in private meetings, and they don't feel like they're dragging their feet at all. Cai Yuanpei also said happily: "Princes, the Qing Party is completely to maintain tradition and oppose radicalism. At present, those people who are flaunting the banner of revolution have learned all kinds of heresies from foreign countries, coerced the people with the selfishness of one party, and destroyed the gentry. This situation will definitely allow them to continue. ”

These Restoration Society bigwigs nodded silently at Cai Yuanpei's words, and the people who could gather here had completely the same political views, and they were all opposed to any changes to the land system. One of the characteristics of the BJP's policy was its unwavering commitment to the "agrarian revolution", in contrast to which even the most radical League of the year only shouted the idea of "equal land rights". When Tao Chengzhang was in charge of the Restoration Society, because there were many members of the Liberation Society, who were from homesteaders, the land side shouted the extremely traditional slogan of "curbing annexation". After Cai Yuanpei continued to be in charge of the Restoration Society, he no longer even shouted "curbing mergers". In addition, Cai Yuanpei was recognized by Beiyang, and the Beiyang Army stationed in Zhejiang also gave Cai Yuanpei a lot of face, and the gentry and landlords from all over the country were naturally willing to take refuge in Cai Yuanpei.

"Tao Huanzhang is bent on maintaining the situation of inter-provincial autonomy, and I can understand it. It's just that the current situation in China is simply impossible to really implement any inter-provincial autonomy. As far as I know, the autonomy of the United Provinces was used by Chen Ke to deceive Yuan Shikai in order to protect himself. The autonomy of the provinces is one, and each province has its own plans, and everything wants other provinces to contribute. The three provinces under Chen Ke's jurisdiction can calmly defeat the other provinces one by one. When other provinces were destroyed, no one dared to help them, for fear that the People's Party would take the opportunity to deal with them, and in just a few years, the People's Party would change from a land of three provinces to a land of seven provinces. In the territory of the People's Party, Chen Ke absolutely does not talk about the autonomy of the provinces. The People's Party was dominant, and the gentry and landlords were slaughtered. Such a lesson is not far away, and all those who support the autonomy of the provinces can be said to be Chen Ke's accomplices. Cai Yuanpei explained his point of view in detail.

"Then how is Cai Gong going to deal with these people?" The participant asked.

"Absolutely unavailable!" Cai Yuanpei replied firmly.

The gang of bigwigs talked to each other, using their knowledge to confirm what Cai Yuanpei said, and soon everyone reached an agreement. "Cai Gong is not worried that the People's Party will interfere at all?"

"The British have decided to help." Cai Yuanpei threw a bombshell.

At this time, all the bigwigs attending the meeting were excited, "It's great to have Britons on the move." "Cai Gong, are the British ready to go to war directly against the People's Party?"

Cai Yuanpei smiled slightly but didn't answer, he spread out a map on the table, "The western Zhejiang branch is in collusion with the People's Party, and they think that they can hold it with their backs to Anhui." The BJP also needs a buffer zone, so I fully support them. The better the life of western Zhejiang, the more the People's Party will be able to deceive the people who do not understand the truth in our Guangfu Society. As long as the western part of Zhejiang is purged and the people's party's internal response to the Liberation Association is removed, the situation can be completely renewed. ”

Listening to Cai Yuanpei's concluding words, some people couldn't help but say: "Cai Gong, I've been in meetings these days, and I've almost figured out my personal thoughts here." I don't think those people are stubborn, and there's really no need to bother with them. Let's start ticking the list. ”

"Yes, we are all on one side, and if we all tick off the list, we can almost find out all the chaotic parties."

"Even if you can't take care of it for a while, someone will definitely report it during the purge, and it will be good to add it to it at that time."

The bigwigs put forward their opinions one after another, but the meaning in and out of the words was the same, "Let's start quickly!" ”

Cai Yuanpei knew that he couldn't resist everyone, and he emphasized his attitude, "What we want to clean up this time are the forces that support the policies of the People's Party, and we must first take these people as the leader." ”

"But what should Tao Chengzhang do?" Someone asked the question again, "How can Tao Chengzhang not interfere in this matter?" ”

"I'll transfer him to southern Zhejiang first." Cai Yuanpei couldn't make up his mind to attack Tao Chengzhang, he said helplessly.

February 14, 1915 was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the sky was just bright, and firecrackers rang out in many places in Hangzhou. Citizens who were awakened by the sound of firecrackers were slowly preparing to start celebrating the New Year. Tao Chengzhang had already received an order from Cai Yuanpei a few days ago, asking him to go to southern Zhejiang to prepare for the rectification of the Guangfu Army in southern Zhejiang. However, Tao Chengzhang did not leave immediately, he hoped to contact the backbone of the Restoration Society in Hangzhou as much as possible before leaving.

Even though Cai Yuanpei is already in power, and a considerable number of people within the Liberation Society think that they want to support the Beiyang government, there are still some old brothers in the middle and upper classes who have fought with Beiyang, and these people still agree to a certain extent in their hearts to seek Zhejiang's independent status as much as possible. It's one thing to dare to speak up for your own personal gain, but it's another thing to say what you say when it comes to a critical moment. For the members of the Restoration Society who can find support, Tao Chengzhang still tries his best to win their support.

was ready to go out early in the morning, but Tao Chengzhang was waiting. A few months ago, Chang Kaishen, a revolutionary young man from Fenghua, defected to Tao Chengzhang, and this young man respected Tao Chengzhang's identity as a revolutionary predecessor. When he defected, he had a very firm attitude, and he must follow Tao Chengzhang to continue the revolution. At a time when the identity of "revolutionary senior" is constantly declining, Tao Chengzhang likes this young man's respectful attitude very much. Chang Kaishen has already paid tribute to Tao Chengzhang for the New Year in advance, and during the conversation, he heard Tao Chengzhang say that he was going to visit the guests at first, and Chang Kaishen volunteered to come to Tao Chengzhang as an entourage, so that he could meet more revolutionary predecessors. Tao Chengzhang felt good about such a motivated expression, so he agreed to wait for Chang Kaishen to go out together on the morning of the first day of the new year.

Sure enough, before it was fully lit, someone knocked on the door amid the sound of firecrackers. Tao Chengzhang opened the door, and Chang Kaishen stood outside the door. "You came early." Tao Chengzhang is an acute person, and he is in a hurry. This is already quite a compliment.

Before the words fell, he saw that Chang Kaishen's delicate face not only did not have the unique smile of the New Year's greeting, but even gave Tao Chengzhang an extremely dangerous feeling. After all, he had experienced too many life and death moments, Tao Chengzhang still had a smile on his face, but he suddenly opened his arms and grabbed the two doors and began to close them. At this moment, a person flashed out from behind Chang Kaishen, stuck his foot into the door, and pressed his knee against a door panel. Chang Kaishen had already pulled out his pistol at this time, and pulled the trigger continuously on the chest of Tao Chengzhang, who was really close at hand, along the gap between the half of the door that could not be closed and the half of the door that had been closed.

was hit by bullets continuously, and Tao Chengzhang no longer had the strength to hold the door. The man behind Chang Kaishen had already slammed open the door panel. He also had a pistol in his hand, and at this time, Tao Chengzhang's body began to fall backwards, and the man stepped into the door and fired two shots at Tao Chengzhang's head, before turning his head and waving at Chang Kaishen.

The time for the assassination was extremely short, but the expressions of both of them became extremely hideous. Putting away the pistol, the two of them no longer cared about Tao Chengzhang, who was bleeding from his eyebrows and chest, and walked quickly towards the alley together. Although the sky was not fully bright, the sound of firecrackers was already crackling in the distance. The few gunshots and the smoke from the muzzle of the guns were completely muffled by the unique sounds and smells of the first day of the new year.

Tao Chengzhang's assassination shook the whole of Hangzhou during the Spring Festival, and the Zhejiang parliament and the Zhejiang provincial government immediately issued a notice to arrest the murderer. The Beiyang Army in various parts of Zhejiang immediately took action, imposed martial law in Hangzhou, Jinhua, Shaoxing and other cities, and imposed blockades on major transportation routes.

Wang Jinfa, director of the Hangzhou Police Department, never expected that Tao Chengzhang would be stabbed on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and when he was called by Zhu Rui, the governor of Zhejiang, he still felt that he couldn't believe that such a big event had happened. chatted with Zhu Rui about this matter for a while, but Wang Jinfa didn't match the preface and the afterword, and he couldn't change his strength from the shock at all.

"Director Wang, it's not just this matter that I invite you over this time. Do you know that your embezzlement has been exposed? Zhu Rui looked at Wang Jinfa coldly and said.

"What?" Wang Jinfa couldn't understand what Zhu Rui was talking about for a while. However, Zhu Rui did not leave much time for Wang Jinfa, and the four personal soldiers of the Governor's Mansion had already surrounded Wang Jinfa with pistols.

No matter how bizarre things look, Wang Jinfa has always been the assassination king of the Restoration Society, and he still calmed down in the face of such a situation. "Zhu Dudu, what does this mean?" Wang Jinfa asked in an indifferent tone.

"Director Wang, do you think I don't know about the embezzlement of 30,000 oceans? It's not just these 30,000 oceans, you help people buy their lives, and find a scapegoat for slaughtering white ducks, you are really bold. When Zhu Rui counted the crimes of Wang Blonde, his voice was full of courage.

Wang Jinfa only spoke to distract the enemy a little, and at the same time buy himself a little time. I saw that the four pro-soldiers around him didn't listen to Zhu Rui at all, but were engrossed in aiming at Wang Jinfa with their pistols, and there was no opportunity to take advantage of it. And what Zhu Rui said was the truth, Wang Jinfa felt a burst of regret in his heart, why didn't he expect that Zhu Rui would want to deal with himself a long time ago.

As soon as he was distracted, Wang Jinfa felt that his back waist was hit by a hard muzzle. Behind him, one of the governor's personal soldiers had already bullied him and restrained Wang Jinfa. Seeing that the other three pro-soldiers were still engrossed, as long as Wang Jinfa moved slightly, they would shoot. Seeing that there was no possibility of escape, Wang Jinfa did not gamble on the opportunity. "Zhu Dudu, what do you mean?"

"Tie him up!" Zhu Rui said.

When Wang Jinfa had been tied up with ropes, Zhu Rui said, "Director Wang, do you know who found out that Mr. Tao was stabbed first?" ”

"Who?" Wang Jinfa asked, Zhu Rui's turn of events made Wang Jinfa feel a huge unease.

"Humph!" Zhu Rui sneered, "It was Xu Zhongqing from Fang Yi Bureau who discovered it first. Xu Zhongqing said that yesterday he and Mr. Tao made an appointment to visit people, and said that they would go with a person named Chang Kaishen. This Chang Kaishen was recommended by you to Mr. Tao, right? ”

Wang Jinfa felt panicked in his heart when he heard this, Xu Zhongqing was introduced by Xu Xilin to join the Restoration Society, and after the failure of the Nanjing Battle launched by Tao Chengzhang, he followed Tao Chengzhang to withdraw to southern Zhejiang, and now he is the director of the epidemic prevention bureau. This person has no grudges with Wang Jinfa, and the relationship can even be said to be good. Therefore, many people will believe Xu Zhongqing's words. What's more, Chang Kaishen is indeed the person introduced by Wang Jinfa to Tao Chengzhang.

"It was Chen Qimei who introduced it, and I recommended Chang Kaishen to Mr. Tao to know." Wang Jinfa didn't have time to put on a score, trying to overwhelm Zhu Rui from the momentum, but began to defend himself.

"You say it's Chen Qimei, it's Chen Qimei? Who proofs? Zhu Rui asked coldly.

When Chen Qimei introduced Chang Kaishen, no one else was present at all, and at that time, a batch of opium from the Qinggang was detained by Wang Jinfa in Hangzhou, and the two were dealing with this than the opium business, Zhejiang is anti-drug, if this opium business is known by others, Wang Jinfa can completely lose his head, as a last resort, Wang Jinfa shouted with a stalk around his neck: "Zhu Dudu, can't you still believe me?" ”

"You made me believe you, give me proof. You said that it was introduced by Chen Qimei, how can you prove it? We have sent people to look for Chang Kaishen, but we have not seen anyone except the blood on the ground. Chang Kaishen doesn't see anyone alive or dead, how can I trust you? ! Zhu Rui shouted, "Director Wang, if you can't explain this matter clearly, then don't blame me for being unkind." Someone, bring Director Wang down for questioning. ”

The torturers knew that Wang Jinfa had the prestige of assassinating the king, and he was extremely vicious when he started it. By this time, Wang Jinfa already knew that there was a lot of shady scenes in this matter, and when the torturer pretended to ask again, Wang Jinfa laboriously spit out the blood in his mouth, and laughed miserably: "What do you want me to say?" ”

"We heard that Chen Boping introduced Chang Kaishen to you, I don't know if that's the case?" The torture officer said with a smile.

"Hehe," Wang Jinfa laughed miserably, it turned out that the matter was really inside. Chen Boping is Xu Xilin's confidant, but Tao Chengzhang dislikes this person very much, and has said more than once that Chen Boping "wants to be the emperor". The conflict was completely public, and the whole Restoration Committee was aware of it. Replacing Chen Qimei with Chen Boping not only made the clue that was almost a needle in a haystack suddenly within reach. Moreover, the murderer of Tao Chengzhang's assassination can be directed at the West Zhejiang Branch.

It's ruthless enough! It's ruthless enough! Wang Jinfa thought to himself, he couldn't help coughing a few times, only to feel that his throat and eyes were fishy and sweet, which was obviously a sign of internal injury. If the torturer continues to beat him like this, I am afraid that this life will have to be confessed here. Wang Jinfa said: "It was Chen Boping who introduced Chang Kaishen to me and asked me to recommend Chang Kaishen to Mr. Tao." ”

After hearing this, the torturer turned his head and shouted, "Someone, record a confession." ”

With Wang Jinfa's breakthrough, the facts of the case soon became "clear". Not only Chen Boping, who was in western Anhui, did not join the western Zhejiang branch, but Xu Ziying and Gong Baoquan, who once participated in the revolution under Tao Chengzhang and Xu Xilin, were involved in this assassination. Xu Ziying and Gong Baoquan were first arrested, and then some letters were copied out of their home. The content of the letters was all against Beiyang's control in Zhejiang, criticized Cai Yuanpei and Tao Chengzhang, and praised the land policy of the People's Party.

In order to show justice to everyone, on February 17, that is, the day of the fifth day of the break, the Zhejiang court openly tried the case. Due to Wang Jin's testimony and the proof of the letters, the whole thing is believed to be extremely dissatisfied with the Zhejiang branch of the Liberation Society, and Chen Boping is suspected of major instructions for murder. The Zhejiang court immediately ordered Chen Boping to be summoned to the court for investigation.

When the court documents were sent to Changxing County in western Zhejiang Province in disguise, it was February 19, the day after the trial ended. This is the first time that Zhexi knows how far what happened in Hangzhou.

Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin got the news on the second day of the Lunar New Year that the Beiyang Army had blocked the passage to the outside world in western Zhejiang, and they had no idea what was happening. When I sent someone to listen to the information, I only heard that Tao Chengzhang had been assassinated. At this time, the western branch of Zhejiang was also frightened. Tao Chengzhang is the banner figure of the Liberation Society, and his assassination will set off a huge wave in Zhejiang. The western branch of Zhejiang hoped that Tao Chengzhang could at least save his life. This way we don't let things get out of hand.

As a result, a few days later, an official letter from the Zhejiang court was delivered. Tao Chengzhang was assassinated, and Chang Kaishen, who was suspected of assassination, was actually recommended to Tao Chengzhang by Chen Boping. Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin immediately called Chen Boping to ask what was going on.

Of course, Chen Boping couldn't admit that he had done this, and the reason for this was that Tao Chengzhang once said that Chen Boping was quite an emperor. It's true that this happened, but it was all six or seven years ago, and God knows how these people could turn this over as evidence than old bad debts. Chen Boping also tried to seriously explain that this was a false accusation. But under Xu Xilin's repeated questioning, Chen Boping finally couldn't help but get angry. "Mr. Xu, if you really think that I did this, then you might as well tie me up and send me to Hangzhou. But I want to explain to you that I, Chen Boping, have never done this. ”

Qiu Jin saw that there was such a fuss, and she hurriedly persuaded: "Bosun, since Peping said that there is no such thing, it shouldn't be that Peping is mistaken." ”

Xu Xilin let out a long sigh, "I also know that it is impossible for Peping to lie, but now Wang Jinfa insists that it was Peping who recommended this Chang Kaishen to Tao Gong." How do we explain that? ”

Chen Boping sneered, "Mr. Xu, if you're afraid, it's okay." Since the Zhejiang court summoned me, I just went. I want to confront that Wang Jinfa face to face, when did I recommend Chang Kaishen to Mr. Tao. I'd like to see who is trying to frame me! ”

Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin were silent when they heard this, and there was no other way than this method at the moment. If the West Zhejiang Branch is so silent, I am afraid that within two days, the entire Liberation Council will begin to denounce the West Zhejiang Branch.

"Brother Boping, you can't go to Hangzhou. Since someone has made it clear that they want to frame you, whether you go or not will be framed. Ji Ye, who had been silent, stood up and said loudly.

"Ji Ye, don't be impulsive!" Qiu Jin persuaded.

Listening to Qiu Jin's words, Ji Ye's anxious forehead was about to jump up, "Sister Qiu, I'm not impulsive." Now that they have made it clear that they want to frame us, Brother Peping has gone to Hangzhou, isn't this just sending meat to the door? People must not give. ”

"If we don't let Pepin make it clear, how can we prove our innocence? If not, what will we do in the future? Xu Xilin asked.

Ji Ye just felt that there was a lot of article in this matter, and she could only fight-for-tat at this time, instead of blindly surrendering, but when it came to what to do in the future, she didn't think clearly.

"I ......, I ......, I don't think they want us to be innocent." It took a while for Ji Ye to say what he thought.

Hearing this, Chen Boping showed a grateful look on his face, while Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin shook their heads slightly, with helpless expressions.