Of course, if the meaning of revolution is extended to the two stages of overthrow and construction, a similar judgment will be drawn to Chen Wenqiang. That is: the constitutionalists could be transformed into revolutionary allies; The growth of the constitutionalists is beneficial to nation-building; In China's patriarchal society, constitutionalism is an important factor in maintaining local social stability.

And this judgment has another premise, that is, to distinguish between constitutionalism and royalism among the constitutionalists. Although, at the moment, it seems that the two are one. However, as the situation developed, a split between the constitutional faction composed of businessmen and gentry who aimed to seek more political interests and the royalist faction composed of die-hard Manchu and Han bureaucrats was inevitable.

It is very appropriate to describe Chen Wenqiang as a bystander. In Chinese society at that time, impetuousness and fanaticism flew together, restlessness and commotion danced together. Able to think calmly and realize that the overthrow of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was only the beginning of the possibility of a strong and prosperous country, and that there were many and difficult problems to be solved, I am afraid that the only one who was not enthusiastic and optimistic about the revolution was Chen Wenqiang.

"So far, I've made a lot of money and spent a lot of money, but I've only changed the lives of very few people." Chen Wenqiang shook his head again and again with emotion and helplessness, "Shanghai, just a Shanghai, is only a small piece on the map of China, and I can't do it to make the people here live like this." Think about the people across the country, how much do you think it will cost to keep them clothed and fed, and what kind of systems and policies can lift them out of poverty? As soon as the revolution succeeds, will these problems be solved? ”

"Revolution is imperative, and this is the basis for solving problems." Song Jiaoren paused and said: "If the general environment does not change, no amount of money spent will have a great effect, let alone the implementation and implementation of good policies and laws." ”

"I'm not saying it's not revolutionary, but it's about being more specific." Chen Wenqiang frowned slightly and said, "It is obviously harmful to imagine things too simple and to estimate the difficulties too easily. Impassioned slogans are easy to shout, but concrete solutions are there. Now it seems hollow and unrealistic. If the Revival Society wants to reflect its own maturity and advancement, and take a long-term view of the problem, it may as well put more effort into the details. ”

"Wen Qiang, you have to be more detailed." Cai Yuanpei said on the side.

Huaxing will rise after the failure. Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren led a large number of members to flee to Shanghai, preparing to take refuge in Japan. Through Zhang Shizhao and Cai Yuanpei, Huang, Song and others made contact with the Fuxing Society. Arguments and debates are inevitable, and there are those who change their minds and those who are stubborn. The Huaxing Association has been established for too short a time, and it is obviously not yet well-organized and ideologically unified.

That's right, Song Jiaoren was a member of the original Huaxing Association that was transferred to the Fuxing Society and stayed in Shanghai. Historically, he was able to resist the accusations of some students studying in Japan for betraying the party and befriending officials, refusing to be bribed by the Japanese authorities with heavy sums of money, and resolutely providing the Qing government with the book "The Majima Issue" written by his meticulous research and research, with the help of the general interests of the nation, making it difficult to establish the lies and perjury fabricated by the Japanese side, and forcing him to abandon the conspiracy of embezzlement. It can be seen that Song Jiaoren has an understanding beyond ordinary people in terms of national interests and national righteousness.

At the same time, Song Jiaoren also had a sophisticated view and unique opinions on the Qing court's constitutional practice. He believed that it was impossible for the Qing court to truly establish a constitution, because one of the basic requirements of a constitutional state was that the rights and obligations of the citizens were equal, which the Qing court could not achieve. The Qing Dynasty customized, the Han people had to pay the land grain, and the Manchu people did not pay taxes, but the government provided them with the land grain, how can this achieve equality of obligations? Another custom of the Qing Dynasty was that government officials were basically Manchu and Han equal, and some departments were even controlled by all Manchus. And the population of the country is only 1 200% of the Han people, how can this achieve equality of rights?

And Song Jiaoren is not only knowledgeable, but also a practitioner in the revolution, which makes Cai Yuanpei and Zhang Shizhao sigh to themselves. Sees him as a candidate who can replace himself and will do a better job than he can lead the core of the Revival Society. In particular, some of Song Jiaoren's ideas and theories are similar to Chen Wenqiang, which makes Cai Yuanpei and others firmly believe that Song and Chen will have a more tacit understanding in the future cooperation work.

In fact, when Chen Wenqiang was visiting and traveling around Nanyang, Song Jiaoren was already being trained as a successor, and he came into contact with more information and documents of the Revival Society. As well as some core secrets. When Chen Wenqiang returned to Shanghai and received Cai Yuanpei's recommendation, he secretly observed it again, and finally agreed to Cai Yuanpei and Zhang Shizhao's suggestion and accepted Song Jiaoren as a member of the new leadership core of the Fuxing Society.

At this point, Chen Wenqiang met with Song Jiaoren in his real identity, and Song Jiaoren finally knew that the No. 2 person in the Revival Association, "Sun Wei", was Chen Wenqiang, who was becoming more and more popular in the fields of science and industry.

It is a pity that during the period when Chen Wenqiang was not in Shanghai, although the revival association expanded, there were also regrettable things. For example, Huang Xing decided to maintain the independence of the Huaxing Association for the time being, and has led some members of the Huaxing Association to take refuge in Japan; Tao Chengzhang's hatred was deep and deep, and he wanted to set up a separate revolutionary group with his fellow villagers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but he was willing to cooperate with the Renaissance Association.

The slogan of "anti-Manchurian Paiman" is too simple, although it can arouse the righteous indignation of the Han people and stir up the revolutionary storm, but the sequelae are also very large. Like the Revival Association, the "anti-Manchurian platoon" is defined as "those who are full, the royal family and nobles, the incompetent officials, and the soldiers who are brutal and harsh." If the husband is listed as a gangster, engaged in all kinds of industries, and follows the herdsmanship, how can he want to kill his belly? At the same time, the Fuxing Association also included Han officials who bully the people with power as targets of opposition, "for the minions of the government, scrape the people's fat and ointment to fatten themselves, and treat the people harshly as the rank of promotion, tyrannical or more than the Manchurians, and they should be killed."

Obviously, relative to the rationality of the Revival Society, Tao Chengzhang advocated that "those who are my enemies, not only the Manchu Emperor, but all Manchurians are also my enemies", but he has gone too far on the issue of "anti-Manchu and Manchurian".

Like-minded people don't agree, even if they reluctantly join now, the future split is predictable. Therefore, Chen Wenqiang listened to Cai Yuanpei's story, although he felt a little regretful, but he was not too disappointed. As for Song Jiaoren, Chen Wenqiang felt that he might be his most powerful help.

"To put it in more detail, it is hoped that the Revival Society will be able to create an authority and mentor on revolutionary theory, or form a writing team to write a theoretical book that covers most of the characteristics of a democratic country, including the constitution, constitutionalism, and legal provisions." Chen Wenqiang thought about it and said slowly: "So far, for revolutionaries, most of them lack a systematic understanding, and they only stay in the superficial stage......

Constitutionalism in the world. Whether it is Britain, France, the United States, or the Soviet Union, they all promulgated a fundamental ** after the success of the revolution and the fact of democracy. To recognize it, this is the Constitution.

Chen Wenqiang, on the other hand, wanted to do the opposite, first portraying the image of a constitutional state in front of the world, and pointed out the general plan for establishing a constitutional state. The policies to be adopted by this constitutional state for all strata of society will be enumerated in the form of law, including the Commercial Code for businessmen. There is the Labour Code for workers, the Land Law for peasants, the Military Service Act for soldiers, and the Education Act for students.........

"At the end of the day, revolution is about changing the unjust and dark status quo and it will be beneficial to the majority of people, and that is what I want to say to the world." After Chen Wenqiang's explanation, he concluded: "I think that only by clearly and clearly letting others understand that the revolution is a good thing related to themselves, people from all walks of life will be assured of the revolution we are going to carry out." will support and champion our revolutionary actions. ”

"I'm afraid it's quite a lot of work." Cai Yuanpei thought about it and said: "And it will be a process that needs to be constantly revised and improved, and there will be no years of work."

"There are many laws from all over the world that can be used for reference, but I think the difficulty is how to adapt to the actual situation in China." Chen Wenqiang smiled faintly and said, "As for the modification and improvement, of course it is inevitable. Besides, we can brainstorm and absorb the opinions of all walks of life, and welcome them to discuss and speak freely! ”

"That's a way to go." Song Jiaoren had been thinking about it, and nodded in agreement at this time: "Keep shouting about the establishment of the Republic of China." What is this Republic of China like? There have been many rebellions, or revolutions, in history, but what has changed has always been the dynasty and the name of the regime. It is the skin of society, and what remains unchanged is the darkness, oppression, injustice and injustice of feudal society. If the status of the people is not improved in the future because of the change of the sign of the Republic of China, then the revolution we are calling for will lose its original intention. ”

"Sure enough, he is knowledgeable, and he is better than me." Chen Wenqiang stretched out his hand and praised it.

"Well, let the majority of people see the benefits of the revolution. Looking forward to the success of the revolution, there is also the enthusiasm to participate, and I understand what Wen Qiang means. Cai Yuanpei smiled.

"Yes, everybody's involved." Chen Wenqiang smiled heartily, "Students, workers, peasants, businessmen, soldiers, and you university scholars are all involved in the revolution, so that's not the excitement." ”

"Lively?" Song Jiaoren felt fresh and a little funny about the word used by Chen Wenqiang.

"If you don't like it, you can use other words." Chen Wenqiang got up with a smile, "I guess you know all the major events that the Revival Association is planning, if you have no opinion, let's continue to do it." Well, if nothing else, I'll go first. ”

"It is rumored outside that the Manchu court wants to reward you, what do you think?" Song Jiaoren looked at Chen Wenqiang and asked bluntly.

"Just give it!" Chen Wenqiang said nonchalantly: "Anyway, it's not a real job, and I didn't spend a lot of money anyway." It is better to have an official body, and it is more convenient to go to Qiongzhou to establish a base. ”

"Slander is not counted, but a clear conscience is required." Cai Yuanpei patted Song Jiaoren and said unexpectedly: "I guessed well, right?" Wen Qiang must have answered like this. ”

"As long as it is beneficial to the revolution, I don't have to worry about my reputation." Chen Wenqiang looked at Song Jiaoren and said solemnly: "But the Revival Society wants to create a revolutionary designer, or the most authoritative revolutionary theorist, and establish the leading position of the Revival Society in the revolution." Brother Heqing, Brother Dull Chu, you two are clean and self-conscious, and you have no losses in the festival, you are the most suitable candidates. ”

Song Jiaoren and Cai Yuanpei glanced at each other, shook their heads lightly and said, "It doesn't have to be a person, it can be a theoretical team, and it's okay to use a pseudonym." ”

"It's definitely going to be a pseudonym, and it's going to be louder." Chen Wenqiang suggested with a smile: "Whether it is correct or not, the outside world has basically recognized the North Star of the revolution, then we will be the sun of the revolution, shining brightly." ”

……………

China's modern constitutionalism is largely linked to the country's prosperity and strength, that is, "prosperity and strength are the body, constitutionalism is the use", constitutionalism has become a "magic weapon" for modern Chinese people with lofty ideals to avoid the danger of "destroying the country and destroying the species", and since then it has been combined with China's national appeal for salvation and survival, and formed a powerful constitutional trend and constitutional movement in the last decade of the Qing Dynasty's rule.

Is constitutionalism really a special medicine to cure the country's weakness and people's poverty, and political **? The question of which is more important than constitutionalism and prosperity and how to balance this is still a difficult problem that is still debated in later generations, and it still puzzles Chen Wenqiang.

However, one thing he can be sure of is that constitution-making and legislating are the necessary steps for China to enter civilization, and democratic constitutionalism is not an unattainable ideal, but a political habit that everyone can learn. Moreover, whether it is a constitutional monarchy or a democratic republic, constitutionalism is the primary issue that must be discussed and faced.

Of course, he will not spend too much energy on these theoretical things, including propaganda and agitation, because he has the talent to do it. As for him, as the financial pillar of the Revival Society, and as a good disguise of identity, he has his own tasks to accomplish.

After nearly two years of struggle, 1904 was a fruitful year for Chen Wenqiang. In view of his extensive cooperation with Germany in chemistry, electric power, hospitals, etc., as well as the growing prestige of Chen Wenqiang, coupled with the reputation and benefits brought to Germany by the co-invention of isoniazid, the University of Frankfurt awarded him an honorary doctorate and invited him to visit and give lectures at an appropriate time.

The reward of the Manchu Qing court has been decided, and an edict was issued in the name of Emperor Guangxu, praising Chen Wenqiang for his "proficiency in foreign affairs", and appreciating the flowers and feathers of the three products and the four grades of Jingtang alternate. At the same time as Chen Wenqiang, Zhang Rongxuan, an overseas Chinese businessman who contracted the Chaoshan Railway, and Zhu Lanfang, a domestic giant businessman who contracted the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway, were also rewarded by the imperial court.

Externally, there is not only international recognition in terms of degrees, but also official status and red tops at home, and the benefits of business and business operations are also increasing. With money, officials, and academic qualifications, Chen Wenqiang's actions are more convenient, and the arrangements and preparations for going to Qiongzhou have also been stepped up.

……………… (To be continued.) )