"If I die, I need to elect the next party chairman." As soon as Chen Ke's words fell, a dull thunder sounded outside the house. Anhui has entered the rainy season, but cadres of the Central Committee of the People's Party still rushed from all provinces to attend the meeting.

The members of the Central Committee were silent with gloomy faces, and after a long while, Qi Huishen said. "Chairman Chen, let me go to the meeting."

"It's a big meeting. It is not an exaggeration to say that it will determine the fate of China in the next few years. I had to go in person. Chen Ke said calmly.

"Chairman Chen, this meeting still benefited Beiyang Yuan Shikai, I always feel unwilling." Zhang Yu's dull voice represents the voice of many People's Party cadres.

"How much money can Beiyang make in this agreement? Didn't we still make a lot of money from our base? He Zudao replied, after expressing his support for Chen Ke, He Zudao was worried about Chen Ke's safety, "Chairman Chen, is Yuan Shikai credible?" ”

Looking at He Zudao's worried look from the bottom of his heart, Chen Ke smiled and said: "Whether Yuan Shikai dares to touch me or not depends on whether everyone's work is good or not." As long as we don't have problems ourselves, Yuan Shikai won't dare to touch a single hair of my hair. If something goes wrong with us, then it's no wonder that Yuan Shikai took advantage of the fire to rob it. Of course, we have to take some of the worst-case scenarios into account. ”

The comrades' expressions were still gloomy, and the benefits that could be obtained from the base areas naturally did not need to be repeatedly emphasized by Chen Ke. However, the People's Party had no choice but to let the Beiyang clique led by Yuan Shikai obtain considerable benefits, and the comrades of the People's Party were extremely unacceptable.

"Chairman Chen, as a member of the Propaganda Department, I don't think I can explain it to the comrades below." Zhang Yu still put forward his own point of view very bluntly, "Yuan Shikai is now the center, and his natural good reputation can fall on his head." Something happened, he pushed us on the head, and we were too easy to carry the black pot. ”

"Now that you've got that, let's fight. There must be a struggle in the field of propaganda. And I repeat, we rely on the broad masses, Yuan Shikai relies on the exploiting class, in the hearts of the people, if the Manchu Qing is still a little bit of traditional influence, Yuan Shikai does not have a natural legal status. What we want to get is an order, a lot of jobs. And these opportunities will bring a lot of opportunities for the masses to get a better life through labor. Whatever the gentry and literati say is like farting. Don't care. ”

As he spoke, Chen Ke's face became serious, "Comrades, don't think that there is no war for the time being, there will be no class struggle. On the contrary, the struggle not only did not ease, but was in full swing on all fronts. The fall of the Manchu Qing meant the end of the struggle of our People's Party for the purpose of overthrowing the Manchus and overthrowing the imperial system. And after this main contradiction disappears, the former secondary contradiction begins to become the main contradiction. Based on the class position of our BJP, the other provinces are in fact our enemies. Our main enemies at the present stage are those who are dependent on foreign forces in Europe and the United States, and I am going to Beijing this time to draw a clear line on this point. ”

As soon as they heard about the struggle, the comrades' spirits lifted. Zhang Yu quickly figured out the joints, "Chairman Chen, do you mean that if Yuan Shikai and the others want to follow the European and American powers, they are the enemies we must defeat now?" ”

"Yuan Shikai is now poor and can't wait to be pants. Doing business with foreigners and borrowing money from foreign devils. He didn't have much of a choice. But betraying national interests is another matter. No matter what Yuan Shikai chooses now, we must defeat Beiyang in the future, and it will definitely be a means of war. However, this does not mean that we must now adopt all means of struggle without a bottom line. ”

Obviously, Chen Ke's words did not fully resonate. The fact that the comrades are silent is simply that they are willing to accept Chen Ke's leadership, but it does not mean that they sincerely accept all of Chen Ke's views. From a domestic strategic point of view, the young comrades are absolutely unwilling to suffer the slightest loss. They obviously still don't understand the true meaning of the phrase "to suffer a loss is to take advantage".

At least everyone is no longer outright against it, and Chen Ke can only temporarily push the current situation to the current level. The party committee elected Qi Huishen as the second candidate, Lu Huitian as the third candidate, and Shang Yuan as the fourth candidate. The People's Party delegation was led by Chen Ke, and Yan Fu and Chen Tianhua were the backbone of the delegation.

To the surprise of the Party Central Committee, Chen Ke proposed to send a delegation headed by Wang Qinian to Southeast Asia to contact Chinese businessmen.

"Southeast Asia is a big market for us, and it's also a very important market for our raw materials, so we have to start talking about it now. The purpose of this mission is to make connections. Don't give anything you promised. The party committee will discuss the specific arrangements. Chen Ke gave the overall arrangement.

After Yuan Shikai received a telegram that Chen Ke was about to enter Beijing, he convened a cabinet meeting.

"Chen Wenqing is going to Beijing to discuss financial issues," and this news did not make the Beiyang cabinet feel the slightest light. In all fairness, these people want to deal with Chen Ke quickly. At least they hope that Chen Ke will enter Beijing as a local government to share the worries of the central government, rather than as a reciprocal status. However, such an idea is clearly unrealistic, so the hostile attitude is quite obvious in the Beiyang cabinet.

"President, Chen Ke has always harbored evil intentions, and this visit to Beijing is definitely for the benefit of the People's Party. You have to be careful about this. Cabinet Vice Premier Xu Shichang said. Recently, Prime Minister Yi Xuan has written three times to resign from the post of Prime Minister, and it is only a matter of time before Xu Shichang becomes Prime Minister. At this time, he must be the first to speak.

"Juren, what do you think Chen Ke will plan?" Yuan Shikai was also quite worried about this. Since Chen Ke did not use military threats, then in general, he would use military force as a background to try to get more from the negotiating table.

"The BJP has said that it will recruit soldiers in the near future. Judging from the information we have received, the BJP has already conscripted more than 100,000 soldiers. With the addition of their original troops, they were afraid that there would be only 300,000 men. At this time, Chen Ke entered Beijing, and it was not only the local forces that were plotting, but also the central government. Xu Shichang replied.

"If Chen Ke wanted to be an official, I was afraid that he would have proposed it directly. If he is willing to be an official in Beijing, it will save our hearts. Duan Qirui replied. Everyone knows that Yuan Shikai intends to appoint Duan Qirui as vice premier of the cabinet after Xu Shichang becomes the prime minister of the cabinet. Seeing Duan Qirui refuting Xu Shichang, many people had a kind of happiness in their hearts.

"President, as far as I can see, Chen Ke is now looking at our financial difficulties, trying to establish his reputation with financial matters, and then justifiably meddle in other turf." To some people's surprise, Duan Qirui didn't want to sing against Xu Shichang. Because Duan Qirui was not right about things, even Xu Shichang nodded slightly about this point of view.

"Chen Ke is now waiting for an opportunity, the republic has just been established, Chen Ke does not dare to rebel. If the BJP has a name now, it will be difficult to say. Duan Qirui continued.

"It's a big difference whether you don't dare to rebel or you don't want to rebel." Zhang Jian replied. As a native of Jiangsu, Zhang Jian has a deep hatred for the People's Party. With the land reform, the Zhang Jian family's investment in northern Jiangsu has come to naught. However, this provocative meaning is quite obvious, but it has no resonance here in the Beiyang Cabinet. Not only did it not resonate, but the eyes of others were even quite disdainful.

Duan Qirui didn't care about Zhang Jian's speech at all, he continued to say according to his own thoughts, "Chen Ke is a big warlord, he doesn't think that the central government is the central government, and this time there will naturally be no idea of respecting the central government on this money." President, I think Chen Ke is only afraid of adopting an anti-guest strategy. ”

Yuan Shikai was quite irritable when he heard this, and when he mentioned that he was mainly anti-guest, Yuan Shikai's first thought was not Chen Ke, but the generals of Beiyang. It stands to reason that the provincial overseers should have financially supported the central government, but in reality, the provincial overseers not only did not support them, but blindly asked the central government for funds. Compared with Chen Ke, Yuan Shikai really couldn't figure out who was the guest and who was the master.

Thinking of this, Yuan Shikai asked tentatively: "Chen Ke said to inform the provinces first, those who want to participate in this peace talks must be willing to bear the Gengzi indemnity, and pay one million taels of silver to the central government before participating. What do you think about this? ”

Zhang Jian immediately replied: "President, although the finances of the provinces are tight now, it will not be too long before there will be a turnaround. If the provinces are turned away this time, what will happen in the future? ”

After listening to Zhang Jian's words, the other cabinet members did not support or oppose it, and they were all silent. These cabinet members were well aware that Yuan Shikai was expressing his dissatisfaction with the provincial overseers very implicitly. Beiyang Group is looking forward to Yuan Shikai, and the benefits that Yuan Shikai has won, needless to say, naturally have a share of the Beiyang provinces. This can be seen from the tradition of the Beiyang New Army era. When it was time to pay a soldier's salary, the officers would shout once, "It is Yuan Gongbao who gives you money." For these people, it is natural to eat Yuan Gongbao. When encountering things, Yuan Gongbao will naturally solve them, and everyone just needs to follow orders. Zhang Jian's words were completely stupid words that did not clarify the situation.

Sure enough, seeing that the cabinet members were silent, Yuan Shikai slowly said to Zhang Jian: "If they are unwilling to pay now, where will they be willing to pay in the future?" And when will this get later? When they have money? When they have money, do we still need their ideas? ”

Zhang Jian wanted to defend a few more words, but Yuan Shikai obviously had no intention of continuing to listen. "Naturally, I won't let Chen Ke do any intrigues this time. But I have a clear grudge to do things, and everyone knows it. If Chen Ke really wants to cooperate, I won't lose him back. Also, this time, some people are afraid that some people will think about it and think that this is a good opportunity. After you go back, take care of your people, and no one is allowed to touch a single hair of Chen Ke. Since Chen Ke dares to come to me, none of you will let me lose this person. ”

The train in which Chen Ke's delegation was traveling was running on the tracks. After taking the train, Chen Ke really didn't dare to compliment this speed, and the speed of forty kilometers per hour was a snail. On the contrary, many of the young members of the negotiating delegation were riding the train for the first time. They were extremely curious about the self-driving vehicle, and they were even more fascinated by the ever-changing scenery on both sides of the railway.

Huang Yuyue was also a member of the delegation, and looking at the scenery passing by on both sides of the car window, she couldn't help but think of what it was like when she was kidnapped by the People's Party. At that time, for the girls of the year, what they saw on the long march of the troops was already refreshing. But compared to the train, it is nothing. What's more, she is going to the city of Beijing, which only "exists in legends". What does the imperial city look like thousands of miles away? How will it be splendid? How jeweled will it be? What will the emperor and the queen mother look like? What is the difference between the people walking on the street and the people in the base?

"It's a meeting!" Hearing the shout, Huang Yuyue reluctantly pulled her thoughts back from these imaginations to reality.

Chen Tianhua was the leader of the negotiations, and Chen Ke and Yan Fu were in charge of the negotiations. It was Chen Tianhua who managed the entire negotiation team. This is equivalent to the job of the big housekeeper, which makes Chen Tianhua a little uncomfortable. He asked Chen Ke why he didn't let a comrade who was good at this work take charge of the matter.

"None of us have ever done this kind of work, and none of us have any experience. No one is better suited for the job. Chen Ke gave an answer that was not an answer.

Since Chen Ke said so, Chen Tianhua can only take on the work. After several years of practical work, Chen Tianhua is no longer the radical youth of 1905. He found that Chen Ke did not demand much from these young comrades, but implied a more demanding attitude than being critical. This kind of attitude can only be understood but it is difficult to explain, and Chen Tianhua is quite puzzled by this. In his free time at work, Chen Tianhua asked about it. "Wen Qing, are you dissatisfied with these young comrades?"

Chen Ke replied lightly, "I have nothing to be satisfied with." Just look at the characteristics of these young comrades. ”

"Tell me more about it, and let me study hard." Chen Tianhua said with a smile.

"To put it bluntly, it is a question of whether or not there is a revolutionary consciousness of the proletariat." Chen Ke replied with a phrase from the 20th century that was no longer spoken.

The term "proletarian revolutionary consciousness" may be a cliché to Chen Ke, but it is quite new to Chen Tianhua. Not only Chen Tianhua, but even Yan Fu was interested, he also sat down and asked, "What kind of enlightenment?" ”

"Whether participating in labor is to make capital for oneself or to improve one's labor ability is a matter of consciousness." Chen Ke replied.

Chen Tianhua and Yan Fu are both quite capable, but the two of them understood this vague remark a little. "Be more specific." Chen Tianhua asked.

"Whether the focus is on doing things or making profits, the two of you can see at a glance. Specifically, are these young comrades doing things well, or are they trying to leave an impression on them? Chen Ke said with a smile.

Yan Fu and Chen Tianhua nodded again and again, and they were already very clear at this point.

"What Wenqing means is that our revolutionary work is about doing things. And is Beiyang talking about factions first? Yan replied.

"It's not that simple, Beiyang's words are also about doing things. However, they distribute benefits and talk about factions. As far as our People's Party is concerned, the first thing to talk about is the class standpoint, and then there is a distinction between doing things and talking about interests. Chen Ke gave the answer.

"Wonderful!" Yan Fu is an educator, and he deeply thinks about this, "Which young comrade is Wen Qing optimistic about?" ”

Chen Ke shook his head helplessly, "Seriously, I don't even like it." Those who can be enlightened are already comrades who can take the lead in the local area. Although the essence of these young comrades is not bad, their consciousness is very insufficient. Bringing them here this time also means exercising. ”

After listening to Chen Ke's harsh evaluation, Chen Tianhua understood what he felt at that time.

didn't want to say more about this kind of thing, Chen Ke changed the topic, "In this negotiation, Yuan Shikai will definitely not give up the dominance." Our goal is to hope that through negotiations with foreign devils, we will eventually ensure that China's customs power is gradually withdrawn into our hands. However, Yuan Shikai can borrow money from foreign devils by mortgaging customs and other tariffs, and we have to pay attention to this matter. ”

Historically, after the Yuan Shikai government seized power in China in 1912, it successively made loans to the banks of the four countries in a short period of time, fully exposing his embarrassment of being short on money and insisting on relying on foreign financial capital. The group of banks of the four countries was determined to seize this great business on the most favorable terms at the right time. On March 12, representatives of the four-nation consortium met in London to discuss loans to China. With regard to Yuan Gang's request of 5 million taels, they only agreed to give an advance of 2 million taels of which was intended to be used to pay military salaries; As for the advances to be made after April, it was reaffirmed that they would undertake them in full, and for this purpose strict conditions, including the principle of supervision, were set at the meeting, and in addition to the points agreed by the Yuan government on the "priority" of the 60 million pounds borrowed and the salt tax as a guarantee for the loan, the following were: (1) China should "take immediate steps to put the salt tax in order, and select foreign experts to assist as recommended by the General Department of Customs and Excise Department"; 2. The banking syndicates of the four countries should "receive appropriate guarantees to control and supervise [China's] use of borrowing revenues"; 3. During the period of payment of the advances by the banking syndicates of the four countries, and until the treasury bonds have not been redeemed and the issuance of the major loans for the aftermath has not been completed, China shall undertake the obligation to "never negotiate or conclude any loan or advance contracts except through the intermediary of the banking syndicates of the four countries." It can be seen from this that the obvious purpose of the banking syndicate of the four countries is to monopolize all advances and aftercare loans, to exercise supervision and control over the use of loans, to intervene in China's salt tax with foreign experts, and to be the masters of China's finances.

And Chen Ke has a little impression of the aftermath of the big loan, even if Chen Ke doesn't remember this matter very well, he can see the inevitability of this matter. Therefore, Chen Ke's negotiation this time is to make the aftermath of the big loan yellow!