On the afternoon of September 1, 1905, during a lecture, Chen Ke shouted a slogan for the first time in a public speech. Before this, Chen Ke had always tried to explain revolution with a calm attitude. Chen Ke didn't like slogans; no matter how many slogans were shouted, it didn't equate to solving practical problems. In the era Chen Ke grew up in, China had entered a stage where engineers governed the country. It was more about doing than saying.

Moreover, even looking at the Party's history, Chen Ke always firmly believed that the Party absolutely did not achieve victory by relying on talk, but by relying on countless arduous tasks. Chen Ke was able to raise the banner of the People's Party, and the reason comrades were willing to gather around Chen Ke was precisely because Chen Ke could solve problems.

After Chen Ke shouted the slogan "Read for the rise of China," the students, who were already brimming with enthusiasm, suddenly boiled over. With so much groundwork laid by Chen Ke beforehand, this slogan was so logical and natural.

Looking at the spirited and high-spirited audience below, looking at the young students applauding and cheering for him, Chen Ke wore a resolute expression on his face and raised his left hand to everyone. This action subconsciously imitated a certain little mustache. But it triggered even greater enthusiasm from the students.

However, beneath Chen Ke's seemingly resolute exterior, his inner STEM nature had already overwhelmed the momentary excitement. Chen Ke calmly concluded in his heart: "As a public lecture, as a revolutionary propaganda activity, shouting slogans is necessary. Just like an experiment, certain reagents are necessary."

The students, whose enthusiasm had been ignited to the extreme, surrounded the stage, blocking Chen Ke so he couldn't leave. You Gou, who was below the stage, saw everyone demanding that Chen Ke must speak some more. Chen Ke had to shout, "That's all for today; the lecture continues tomorrow." But he still couldn't calm the students' demands.

You Gou naturally supported Chen Ke's lectures immensely, but she still had to make medicine at night; the Party's work couldn't be delayed. You Gou looked at her wristwatch again. It was already 5:30 PM.

Almost at the same moment, on a similar dial with an identical movement, Qiu Jin also looked at the wristwatch on her wrist. Japan entered the earth's largest shadow earlier than China, and the sky had already turned completely dark.

Unlike Shanghai, today was a sunny day in Japan. Before walking into the tavern, Qiu Jin could see the bright Venus in the sky. Qiu Jin came to the hotel this time to have dinner with Chen Tianhua, and then Qiu Jin prepared to return to China.

The founding assembly of the Tongmenghui had entered its final stage. The situation could be said to be very good, or it could be said to be very bad. On this matter, Qiu Jin felt rather confused.

At 2 PM on August 13, Chinese students in Japan held a meeting at the Fujimi-ro in Kōjimachi Ward, Tokyo, to welcome Sun Yat-sen. Although it was during the summer vacation, over 1,800 people attended. Latecomers couldn't get in, and there were as many as six or seven hundred people standing on the street looking up at the upper floor. Sun Yat-sen, wearing a pure white Western suit, walked calmly into the venue, and the whole house applauded. Since the Tokyo students began holding gatherings, there had never been such a grand occasion. After Song Jiaoren delivered a welcome speech, Sun Yat-sen gave a two-hour speech.

He said: "Now China must be revived by us four hundred million citizens. Today is the day we first rise up. From now on, we must use all our strength to lift up this matter of reform. If we set our minds to say that China must prosper, there is absolutely no reason for China not to prosper." He called for abandoning the monarchy and "choosing the most civilized political laws on earth to save our China," building China into a first-class republic of the 20th century. Applause lasted for a long time.

Qiu Jin didn't know that in history, Chen Tianhua, who was beside Sun Yat-sen, cheered that Sun Yat-sen "is the representative of our four hundred million people, the hero among Chinese heroes!" What Qiu Jin knew was that after Chen Tianhua went to Shanghai, there was no news. On August 5, Song Jiaoren in Japan received a letter from Chen Tianhua, saying that he would rush back to Japan in a few days and had important things to tell everyone. Then there was no news at all.

As the founding assembly of the Tongmenghui got closer and closer, Chen Tianhua never appeared, which greatly exceeded everyone's expectations. Everyone was very worried that Chen Tianhua had been caught by the Manchu government; after all, he was still wanted. Huang Xing had staged an uprising with Chen Tianhua, so he was especially anxious. It was Qiu Jin who persuaded Chen Tianhua to meet with Chen Ke. Although she didn't dare to tell everyone directly, Qiu Jin herself was even more worried. It wasn't until August 16, four days before the founding of the Tongmenghui, that Chen Tianhua arrived, travel-worn. Although everyone complained verbally, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Tianhua came back in high spirits. Qiu Jin treated Chen Tianhua to a meal the day after he returned. During the meal, they talked about Chen Tianhua's trip to Shanghai and his time with Chen Ke. Chen Tianhua greatly praised Chen Ke's talent and told Qiu Jin about Chen Ke's founding of the People's Party and Chen Ke's recent situation. Learning that Chen Ke was doing quite well in Shanghai, Qiu Jin was rather happy for Chen Ke. In the end, Chen Tianhua paid the bill for this meal. That Chen Tianhua, who had always been tight on money, could also treat a guest was enough for Qiu Jin to see that Chen Tianhua was treated as a guest of honor by Chen Ke.

But the happy reunion didn't last too long.

Chen Tianhua was an important figure in the formation of the Tongmenghui. As a main cadre of the Hunan Huaxinghui, Chen Tianhua was a capable subordinate of Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren. Two days later, Qiu Jin heard that many quarrels had occurred between Chen Tianhua and Song Jiaoren. The Tongmenghui was mainly convened jointly by the Hunan Huaxinghui and the Guangdong Xingzhonghui.

But there was no subordinate relationship between the various political parties to begin with, so Qiu Jin learned about the conflict between Chen Tianhua and Song Jiaoren from the foreign students who lived with Chen Tianhua. Not long after, Qiu Jin knew why such a conflict had occurred.

On August 20, at the first meeting after the establishment of the Tongmenghui, Chen Tianhua put forward his own opinion. He hoped to establish a political party with a clear political platform. This political platform was not just a general outline, but a complete set of political theories and a political system program based on this set of theories. As a famous propagandist, Chen Tianhua was the main propagandist of the *Min Pao*. Since he said so, everyone hoped to hear what kind of political theory Chen Tianhua was prepared to present.

Chen Tianhua "lived up to expectations" and put forward the opinion of "reducing rent and interest, uniting workers and peasants." He discussed the defects of private land ownership and proposed the concept of building a new industrialized China.

When Chen Tianhua passionately expounded his concepts, none of the attendees spoke. When Chen Tianhua finished speaking, there was silence in the venue. Qiu Jin still remembered that in the face of this situation, Chen Tianhua's expression changed from high-spirited to confused.

The first to speak was Sun Yat-sen. He very politely expressed his opposition. Sun Yat-sen believed that the urgent task now was to overthrow the Qing dynasty. Only after seizing national power would there be conditions to discuss Chen Tianhua's policies.

Guangdong Xingzhonghui stalwart Hu Hanmin immediately spoke up, supporting Sun Yat-sen's opinion. Hu Hanmin spoke even more bluntly: building a new country, or at least building a new provincial regime as the Huaxinghui had hoped back then, was the urgent task. Moreover, Hu Hanmin stated bluntly that the people were unreliable. The Xingzhonghui had also done a lot of propaganda in Guangdong, but very few responded to the revolution. Instead of relying on the people, it was better to rely on fellow villagers and party members.

Facing such opposition, Chen Tianhua was not discouraged. He emphasized that establishing a political party with a clear platform and strict organization was what was most needed at present. Without such an organization, facing the current Manchu Qing, the revolutionary forces were too weak. And everyone's revolutionary attitudes diverged greatly. If they couldn't unify politically now and form a consensus, the unity problem of the Tongmenghui would be very serious in the future.

Chen Tianhua's speech still received support from some people; at least it could be seen that Huang Xing was relatively supportive. Sun Yat-sen's small round face wore a kind smile as he asked, "Xingtai, which nation-saving concept is this political concept based on?"

"At least I don't think equalization of land rights is necessary," said Jiang Yue, who came from the Guangfu Society. This remark was directed at the sixteen-character platform proposed by Sun Yat-sen: "Expel the Tartars, Restore China, Establish a Republic, Equalize Land Rights."

The Guangfu Society didn't have very good relations with other political parties. As a representative of the Guangfu Society, Qiu Jin was very clear about this. The contradictions were multifaceted.

In terms of political concepts, the Guangfu Society demanded the overthrow of the Qing dynasty, but they were not opposed to the imperial system. Not only that, many Guangfu Society members publicly stated that the imperial system was superior to constitutional monarchy. In the Guangfu Society's ideal, they hoped for the appearance of a new Han dynasty.

In terms of official business, Guangfu Society members were relatively wealthy, and it was easy for them to find financial backers. Therefore, they did not support the practice of the group headed by Sun Yat-sen making wild promises and grabbing money with both hands.

In terms of personal matters, Guangfu Society members also attached great importance to their own integrity. Tao Chengzhang had publicly criticized the decadent style of whoring and gambling among those in the Guangdong Xingzhonghui.

The reason the Guangfu Society joined the Tongmenghui was that the Guangfu Society had launched multiple uprisings, but all had failed. Under such circumstances, the Guangfu Society hoped to contact more connections by joining the Tongmenghui, hoping to support each other in uprisings. Even so, opinions within the Guangfu Society on this were seriously divided. Some Guangfu Society comrades had already declared that they would absolutely not join the Tongmenghui. If the Guangfu Society joined the Tongmenghui, they would launch the revolution on their own. "The Guangfu Society will absolutely not cooperate with those fake foreign devils from America."

This so-called "fake foreign devil from America" referred to Sun Yat-sen. Many people in the Guangfu Society had a very strong aversion to Sun Yat-sen. Qiu Jin wasn't even clear how it had come to this.

Hearing this, Hu Hanmin immediately retorted sarcastically, and the atmosphere of the meeting immediately became tense. Chen Tianhua was left hanging to the side, looking very awkwardly at the comrades' quarrel.

In the following days, everyone argued endlessly about the political platform of the Tongmenghui. And Chen Tianhua tried to expound his reasoning again. This time, the various factions finally gave Chen Tianhua time. Qiu Jin didn't expect that Chen Tianhua would actually have moments where he suddenly couldn't go on. Usually, Chen Tianhua talked about revolution with fervor and assurance, discussing various injustices in China with emotion and logic, provoking deep thought. But this time, Chen Tianhua's statement of political concepts was actually somewhat hesitant and self-contradictory. Speaking to the end, Chen Tianhua barely wrapped it up and sat down.

This kind of explanation could not convince the comrades. Not only other factions, but even Huang Xing and Song Jiaoren, who were also from the Huaxinghui, did not support Chen Tianhua. The matter didn't end there. Chen Tianhua was usually always brave in speaking up, but now he began to listen more than speak. The Tongmenghui asked Chen Tianhua to preside over the secretarial work. Chen Tianhua actually showed some intention of declining.

These matters were just small things. By August 25, Qiu Jin heard that Chen Tianhua had actually parted on bad terms with Song Jiaoren again because of an argument. These two had always cooperated very happily. Now that this had happened, Qiu Jin, who was originally suspicious, now had to believe that the meeting with Chen Ke absolutely had a huge influence on Chen Tianhua.

Today Qiu Jin asked Chen Tianhua to dinner just to clarify this matter. Out of female sensitivity, Qiu Jin didn't come out directly with Chen Tianhua. They agreed on 7 o'clock, and Qiu Jin arrived very early. As an important cadre of the Tongmenghui, she was also very busy. It was impossible to always think about this matter. The reason she came earlier was that she also hoped to sort out her thoughts. She hadn't seen Chen Ke for a long time, and Qiu Jin wanted to think carefully about Chen Ke's affairs.

Even now, Qiu Jin could still recall the appearance of meeting Chen Ke for the first time. That youth in strange clothes, and that look slightly carrying a kind of unease and confusion. Qiu Jin could remember it all. But it was hard to say whether Chen Ke had changed, or if Qiu Jin had never been able to understand Chen Ke originally.

Chen Ke understood this era very well, or rather, he knew very well who to cooperate with. Chen Ke also always discarded those who had no utilization value like worn-out shoes. Befriending herself was like this, and befriending Xu Xilin was also like this. Of course, blaming Chen Ke for this would be a bit excessive. The wristwatch Chen Ke practically gave her was of extremely high value. Not only did You Gou say so, but friends in Japan who knew their goods also praised this watch endlessly. Xu Xilin only brought Chen Ke to Shanghai, but Chen Ke still gave Xu Xilin 300 taels of silver. Engaging in revolution these years meant spending money, and Chen Ke indeed didn't have much money on hand at the time.

However, Chen Ke dared to contact You Gou and others. By now, even Hua Xiongmao, who had had conflicts with Chen Ke back then, was so close to Chen Ke. On the contrary, Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin were like strangers to him. After seeing Chen Ke, Chen Tianhua was also quite different from before. What exactly was this Chen Ke up to?

Qiu Jin decided to ask Chen Tianhua carefully, and she would return to Shanghai soon. This time Qiu Jin wouldn't let Chen Ke off easily; she must figure out what this guy was doing.

Chen Tianhua entered the tavern at 6:45. Seeing that Qiu Jin had already arrived, Chen Tianhua hurriedly came over to apologize. The proprietress of the hotel came over with that half-bowing posture unique to Japan. Qiu Jin ordered a few dishes casually and asked, "Xingtai, how come I heard you had some small spats with Mr. Song?"

"It's nothing, just some trivial matters," Chen Tianhua said. Qiu Jin didn't believe Chen Tianhua's words; from Chen Tianhua's face, it could be seen that this was by no means a trivial matter. The two probably argued quite fiercely.

"Xingtai, I introduced Wenqing to you. If there's anything wrong, Tianhua, you can speak frankly."

Chen Tianhua picked up the small wine cup and drained the sake inside in one gulp. Only then did he say with a slight bitter smile, "Mr. Qiu, I am very grateful to you for introducing such a talent as Wenqing to me. Among the revolutionary comrades I have seen, there are few who can surpass Wenqing."

"Who are the few who can surpass Wenqing? Can Xingtai tell me?" Qiu Jin smiled teasingly while pouring wine for Chen Tianhua.

It could be seen that Chen Tianhua took this joke seriously. He thought carefully. Unexpectedly, he didn't speak again. This really startled Qiu Jin a bit. Chen Tianhua didn't like to lie, nor did he like to gossip about others' shortcomings. Since he remained silent, it could only mean that Chen Tianhua really hadn't found a revolutionary who could be mentioned in the same breath as Chen Ke.

Who did Chen Tianhua come into contact with? They were all famous revolutionaries like Song Jiaoren, Huang Xing, and even Sun Yat-sen. Just as Qiu Jin was hesitating whether to continue asking Chen Tianhua, Chen Tianhua spoke first. "Mr. Qiu, the revolution Wenqing advocates seems similar to the revolution we advocate, yet it is completely different. What Wenqing advocates is a revolution of the common people, not a revolution of us property owners."

Qiu Jin still remembered Chen Ke's speech at Cai Yuanpei's home. She wasn't surprised by what Chen Tianhua stated. "Wenqing has always advocated this."

Chen Tianhua shook his head. "Different, it's different."

"How is it different?"

"In Wenqing's view, the Manchu Qing is just blocking his way, so he wants to destroy the Manchu Qing. Wenqing's revolution is to completely crush China and start over. This world has to be done over again."

"Wenqing has always said so," Qiu Jin laughed.

Chen Tianhua frowned slightly and looked at Qiu Jin with a gaze that held indescribable emotions. "Mr. Qiu, in Wenqing's revolution, even revolutionaries like you and me are to be crushed and started over again."

Whether it was the credit of this explanation or the credit of Chen Tianhua's gaze, that sentence just now seemed to open a window in front of Qiu Jin. Qiu Jin suddenly felt enlightened; things about Chen Ke she didn't understand before seemed much clearer at this moment.

"Does Xingtai mean that in Wenqing's revolution, eventually even the revolutionaries must be revolutionized once?"

"Exactly." Chen Tianhua drained the wine in his cup again. "I originally didn't approve of Wenqing's line of thought. But having spent so much time with Wenqing and written articles with Wenqing, I now feel that Wenqing's ideas actually make a lot of sense."

"Oh? What great work, can I have a look?" Qiu Jin asked in wonder.

"Mr. Qiu, the original manuscript is still with Wenqing. I only brought a copy. You can read it now, but you have to return the manuscript to me before I leave." As Chen Tianhua spoke, he took out a copy from his satchel.

"*The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism*, what a strange name."

"The content is even more extraordinary."

"Then I must study it carefully," Qiu Jin laughed.

Having said this much, there was no need to continue drinking. "Mr. Qiu, I'll be leaving first," Chen Tianhua said to Qiu Jin with a smile.

This smile carried some fatigue, but conversely, it had a feeling of being full of vitality. Qiu Jin could see that what was tired was only Chen Tianhua's body. The disputes over the past few days hadn't defeated Chen Tianhua; on the contrary, Chen Tianhua seemed to have broken free from that initial helplessness. It was as if he had found a new direction. Qiu Jin felt very curious about Chen Tianhua's change.

Young people can immerse themselves in their own ideals for a long time, burning their enthusiasm almost infinitely. For them, the future is something to look forward to. As a revolutionary propagandist, Qiu Jin understood that feeling very well. But Chen Tianhua and Qiu Jin were both born in 1875; they were both 30 years old this year, no longer young.

After the outburst of revolutionary passion, Qiu Jin would always have a feeling of powerlessness. No matter how beautiful the world in ideals was, one eventually had to face the ruthless reality. With the increase in age, Qiu Jin felt this helplessness more and more. The more one knew, the more one would fear. Chen Tianhua had suffered continuous setbacks, but instead had a feeling of letting go, which made Qiu Jin somewhat worried.

"Where is Xingtai preparing to go?" Qiu Jin asked with concern.

"I have an appointment to give a lecture to some people," Chen Tianhua replied. Seeing the worry in Qiu Jin's expression, he couldn't help but laugh. "Mr. Qiu, I've been explaining Wenqing's book to a few students recently. The students like this book very much. Every time after I lecture, I discover that many places I originally thought I understood, I actually hadn't figured out brilliantly at all. And after every lecture, there's a feeling of sudden enlightenment."

"Oh, then can I also go and listen?" Qiu Jin became interested.

"If Mr. Qiu doesn't mind, I hope Mr. Qiu will give much advice."

The class was held in a fairly decent residence. Quite a few young people had already gathered in the tatami room. Before entering the door, their heated discussion could be heard. Sliding open the door, twenty or so young people were sitting in several piles, discussing enthusiastically. Qiu Jin glanced around and saw that there were people wearing kimonos and people wearing ordinary international student clothes.

Seeing Chen Tianhua enter, the young people rose one after another. But they stood in two rows. The row on the south side should all be Japanese, about seven or eight of them. They bowed almost simultaneously using the Japanese bowing etiquette and greeted Chen Tianhua in unfluent Japanese. "Hello, Teacher Chen."

The Chinese youth on the right saw the Japanese doing this and also said at the same time, "Hello, Mr. Chen."

When everyone straightened up, Chen Tianhua introduced, "This is Mr. Qiu Jin, a revolutionary and also my comrade. It was Mr. Qiu who introduced me to Mr. Chen Ke."

Hearing this, the Japanese students immediately paid their respects to Qiu Jin using Japanese etiquette again, and the Chinese students also greeted Qiu Jin one after another. Qiu Jin didn't quite understand why, when mentioning her, he had to specifically mention the relationship between Chen Ke and herself. And the eyes with which those students looked at her were so enthusiastic.

The leading Japanese student asked happily, "Teacher Chen, since this Mr. Qiu is acquainted with Mr. Chen Ke, will she be giving us the lecture today?"

"That's not it. Mr. Qiu is just coming over to sit today. I'll try to give this lesson."

Qiu Jin didn't understand what exactly Chen Tianhua meant by these words. While returning the greeting to everyone, she sized them up. Given Chen Tianhua's usual appearance, Qiu Jin found it hard to imagine that he could actually have so many supporters. More importantly, although these young people were high-spirited, they didn't have the impetuous air found on those international students. There were no looks of great joy or anger or dancing eyebrows on everyone's faces; instead, there was that serious attitude of truly pursuing knowledge.

Seeing everyone sit down cross-legged one after another, Chen Tianhua didn't stand on ceremony either. He stood in front of the blackboard and wrote down a topic—" The Connection and Development of the World."

"I have no way to explain today's lesson to everyone anymore. I can only try to read the text. I said before that when Mr. Chen Ke led me to write this book, for the places I didn't understand, Mr. Chen Ke was there to guide me personally. At the time, I thought I understood. But now asking me to explain it to everyone, I can't."

After speaking, Chen Tianhua also sat down cross-legged, took out a copy, and began to read. The atmosphere of the lecture was very good. After reading a part, Chen Tianhua would explain it according to his own thoughts and would also discuss it with the students. The Japanese students participating in this class could all speak Chinese. But presumably, there were many from Nagasaki; their Mandarin accents were baffling, mixing various flavors from Shandong to Fujian.

Compared to the course content, the accent problem appeared insignificant. This lesson discussed the fundamental opposition between dialectics and metaphysics, connections, and the meaning of the objectivity and universality of connections.

This kind of logical problem made Qiu Jin dizzy just by the names. Qiu Jin could still understand every concrete example, but once these examples were subjected to logical argumentation, it was no longer something Qiu Jin could understand now. Not only was Qiu Jin confused, but the students also heard it inexplicably. After Chen Tianhua lectured for half an hour, he gave up.

"I'm really sorry, everyone. I really can't teach this lesson. I now announce that our course ends here," Chen Tianhua said.

Qiu Jin saw Chen Tianhua mess up the lesson and was slightly worried for him. Next, the students indeed made things difficult.

"When does Teacher Chen plan to leave for Shanghai?" asked the leader among the Japanese students.

Qiu Jin looked at Chen Tianhua. For the Japanese to use such a direct way of speaking, it meant they were driving him away.

"Departing in three days."

"Then I'll go buy the boat ticket first," the Japanese student said with a slight look of joy, and then he turned and communicated with other students in Japanese.

"We'll also go back and prepare." A Chinese student who looked like a leader said. After speaking, he took out a money bag. "This is our money for buying boat tickets."

Chen Tianhua shook his head and pushed the money bag back in front of that student. "I will pay for the boat tickets for everyone. For you gentlemen to give up your studies like this and return to China with me, I really feel quite guilty."

"Student Tianhua is taking us to meet that Mr. Chen Ke together. To be able to listen to lectures under his tutelage, everyone is already overjoyed. We study and study for the sake of saving the country; as long as we can save China, this study will not have been in vain."

Other students nodded in agreement one after another.

Qiu Jin looked at Chen Tianhua in astonishment. She originally thought Chen Tianhua had messed up the lecture, but she didn't expect it wasn't that case at all. Listening to everyone's meaning, they were actually going to return to Shanghai together to find Chen Ke. Chen Tianhua had never mentioned this matter; he had kept his mouth shut about such an important decision.

"Mr. Qiu, I don't blame the gentlemen of the Tongmenghui for having opinions about me. What Wenqing has learned is indeed far superior to me. I originally thought I had learned and understood, but only now do I realize that I only understood a little fur. Therefore, I am determined to go back to Wenqing's place to finish learning these courses first. These friends are all extremely interested in Wenqing's book, and I also boasted that Wenqing is running schools and opening factories there. When you gentlemen arrive in Shanghai, you will absolutely not lack ways to support yourselves. Everyone is going over with me."

Qiu Jin really didn't expect that things would actually turn out this way in the end. She looked at the students, especially those Japanese students. What exactly did Chen Tianhua learn from Chen Ke that could make these people so interested? Listening to Chen Tianhua, Chen Ke's place could actually accept so many people, and could support so many people.

What exactly did Chen Ke do in Shanghai? Qiu Jin wanted to know very much.

When Chen Tianhua left, it was September 5, a day earlier than Qiu Jin's return journey.