Lu Huitian was a student at Fudan Public School and had always actively participated in various activities of the Whampoa Book Club. He usually loved to joke and was a bit verbose, but after experiencing this event, his answer admitting to participating in the gunfight was concise and to the point. His gaze towards Chen Ke didn't dodge at all. Chen Ke was very satisfied with this.

"Who else?" Chen Ke continued to shout.

"No one else here; the other few have run away," Qi Huishen answered this question. He stared at Chen Ke, trying to see Chen Ke's attitude. As a result, Qi Huishen couldn't see anything. If it were before, Chen Ke would always express his thoughts with his expression intentionally or unintentionally. Now, apart from determination and focus, no inner emotions could be seen on Chen Ke's face.

"It's been quite a few days since participating in the gunfight; do you have any thoughts?" Chen Ke asked. After speaking, he saw everyone was still standing, so he waved his hand. "Everyone sit first; we'll have a meeting."

The meeting room was a classroom, with complete tables and chairs. Everyone put the desks together and sat around them. No one occupied the head seat; Chen Ke sat there as a matter of course. Unintentionally, Chen Ke was in the center. To his left were Qi Huishen, Qin Wu'an, and Kuroshima Jinichirō in order. There was an empty seat between Qi Huishen and Qin Wu'an, presumably left for Hua Xiongmao. To his right were You Gou, He Zudao, Xie Mingxian, Wu Xingchen, and Chai Qingguo. Others sat in places further away from Chen Ke in order. Lu Huitian simply sat opposite Chen Ke, furthest away, looking somewhat like a hearing.

Following the routine rules of the Party meeting, the chairman of this meeting was elected, which was Chen Ke. He Zudao continued to serve as the clerk.

"I formally propose one thing now. In future formal meetings of the People's Party, everyone will address each other as 'comrade'," Chen Ke said. Although everyone didn't know Chen Ke's meaning clearly, this proposal was unanimously approved.

"Comrade Lu Huitian, I want to ask, it's been several days since the gunfight; what thoughts do you have on this matter?"

Lu Huitian was just about to speak when he saw everyone's eyes falling on him. He straightened his back and said, "I acted too recklessly and caused a lot of trouble for the Party. I was wrong. Comrades also criticized me in previous meetings."

"Any other thoughts?" Chen Ke continued to ask. If it were before, Chen Ke would probably have felt Lu Huitian's attitude was very sincere and commendable. Now Chen Ke didn't have much feeling about this. His attention shifted entirely elsewhere.

It seemed Lu Huitian had been subjected to severe struggle sessions (*pidou*), and he didn't mean to resist Chen Ke's pressing question much. "I should have told the Party branch first that I brought a pistol for fear of accidents..."

"This is not the key. I don't know how the Shanghai party organization discussed this matter. What I want to hear from you is not these words of apology either. Comrade Lu Huitian, what I am asking now is what kind of obligations and responsibilities you think you have to the party organization now, and what kind of voice you should have in the party organization." Chen Ke said very seriously.

Lu Huitian didn't make a sound. The few old comrades of the party organization hadn't asked this question, or even if they had asked, they hadn't asked it so clearly. Although he had a thousand words about this, he couldn't say them clearly for a moment.

"What has been done, no matter how much you regret or are satisfied with it, is in the past. It can neither be changed nor repeated. What I want to ask now is not just Comrade Lu Huitian, but everyone sitting here. What kind of voice do you feel you should have in the party organization? What kind of work should you take on? What kind of obligations should you bear? What exactly is your relationship with the party organization? The reason I ask this is to look forward to the future. According to the planning of the party organization, the focus of our operation will shift to establishing a base area in Anhui. I went to Beijing for this purpose too. Now that I am back from Beijing, I want to ask, what kind of views and opinions does everyone actually have on the People's Party? Only then can I decide who stays in Shanghai to continue working and who goes to Anhui to work with the Party Central Committee."

As soon as Chen Ke finished speaking, except for a few old Party members, everyone else showed surprised expressions. Chen Ke scanned the comrades and saw the new Party members couldn't help looking at each other; some even started whispering. He was very satisfied with the confidentiality of the old Party members. This was the core secret of the Party. If those two traitors had learned this secret, future work would indeed encounter major setbacks. Now, Chen Ke was happy to see that this hadn't happened. He could already be sure that the confidentiality of the old Party members was indeed very reliable.

"I feel I should have known more news." Lu Huitian really didn't expect Chen Ke to be so frank and open. He said with annoyance, "If I knew earlier that we were going to Anhui, I would have been much more cautious. I absolutely wouldn't have been so impulsive."

"You mean you hope to become a formal Party member. I understand correctly, right?" Chen Ke asked. His voice was calm with no emotion in it. This calmness immediately froze the complaint Lu Huitian suddenly generated. "I... I indeed didn't act according to the regulations of the party organization." He said somewhat timidly.

Recalling that time, Lu Huitian suddenly felt a palpitation flowing through his whole body again. Every nerve was stimulated by a numbing sensation, and his whole body seemed to be solidified and unable to move. That was the lingering fear realized after the fact of passing through the gates of hell. When bullets were flying, Lu Huitian didn't have time to think that much at all. At that time, he had no concept of gunshots; he just had no correct judgment of people suddenly falling around him and those sharp sounds. At that time, Lu Huitian's question was: *What exactly happened?*

This gunfight was really unexpected. When the indignant masses marched to the front of the Municipal Council Town Hall of the Shanghai Consular Body, watching the policemen with live ammunition looking at thousands of angry people with fear, the marching masses, including Lu Huitian, suddenly gave birth to a kind of pride. The policemen who were usually high and mighty and arrogant were now trembling with fear one by one. This really greatly stimulated the emotions of the masses. Although the People's Party had planned the parade route, anger, excitement, and the group consciousness formed in the mass action gained the upper hand. The slogans "Chinese don't need foreigners to manage" and "Foreigners get out of China" became louder and louder. With these concise slogans, the masses had more and more impulse to put these slogans into practice. It was like a flood held back by a dam; the longer the time, the higher the water level. Lu Huitian stood at the very front of the team. He clearly saw the gloomy faces of the policemen on guard opposite, the fear revealed in their bones. From the fingers gripping the rifles tightly, from the shrunken shoulders, and the contracted pupils, and the despair revealed on some people's faces, it could be clearly seen and felt.

The momentum of the people had overwhelmed those policemen. With one more push, the torrent of the people could crush everything in front, overturn the foreign devils who were once high and mighty, and trample them under the people's feet. At this subtle moment, at this moment when the people's angry emotions had completely overwhelmed the foreign devils, the Indian policemen opened fire.

Lu Huitian wasn't injured. He and several other comrades carried guns. To be honest, before the parade, the few comrades who bought guns privately decided to carry guns just to embolden themselves. In their feeling, foreigners ran rampant only because they had guns. That's why they carried guns privately and brought them on their bodies during the parade. Moreover, during the social investigation in the countryside, You Gou carried a gun, and it had a very good effect. Only then was the idea of carrying guns sparked in Lu Huitian and others.

Not only did the marching masses have their own mass behavior, but those policemen scared witless by thousands of marching masses also had their own mass emotions. Because they were in a weak position, their fear resonated doubly. After a few gunshots, the people in front were knocked down, but the people behind instinctively surged forward, wanting to see what happened. This situation seemed to be enraged by the Indian policemen opening fire. The big movement of thousands of people, in the eyes of dozens of foreign policemen, really looked like a sea tide that would swallow them up in the next moment. Since companions had already opened fire, others continued firing regardless of anything.

It was exactly this forward movement of the masses that saved Lu Huitian and the others. The people in the front row were knocked down one after another; Lu Huitian, whose position was relatively backward, wasn't hit by bullets. The masses finally knew something was wrong. Hearing screams and the loud gunshots, the masses behind began to flee and scatter. It was also this fast; Lu Huitian was wrapped up by the masses and dispersed. Lu Huitian, whose mind was full of various emotions and signals, didn't sober up a little until he ran far away with the masses. And gunshots were already ringing out at the entrance of the police station.

For the past few days, Lu Huitian had been hiding in the school. Outside, the police and the government were out in force. Except for him, the other few comrades carrying guns didn't show their faces again. It wasn't until Qi Huishen personally went to Fudan Public School to find him that he came to attend the Party meeting. Only then did he know that after he ran away, a gunfight occurred at the Municipal Council Town Hall of the Shanghai Consular Body. Many members of the Whampoa Book Club and the People's Party were arrested. Under the mediation of Yan Fu and Mr. Ma Xiangbo, these people were released. But the comrades arrested in front of the Municipal Council Town Hall of the Shanghai Consular Body were still locked in the police station. It is said that some were seriously injured, and their life or death was unknown.

It was also at this time that Lu Huitian suddenly felt, *maybe it would have been better if I didn't carry a gun, and the comrades didn't carry guns.* At the later meeting, Lu Huitian also frankly admitted his mistake. However, after admitting the mistake, he had another thought: *Could it be that if I didn't carry a gun, those Indian policemen wouldn't have opened fire?* What he could be sure of was that before the Indian policemen opened fire, he and the other few comrades didn't draw their guns, nor did they plan to draw them.

"Regarding this matter, what I want to say is, it must be the Indian policemen who opened fire first. Our comrades engaged in a gunfight with them; we were not wrong. Our mistake was just that we shouldn't have organized the masses to march like this, shouldn't have failed to consider that Indian policemen would inevitably open fire on the Chinese masses. Shouldn't have placed the marching masses in such a dangerous situation. As for those foreign devils, we didn't shoot them enough, not vigorously enough. Not enough!" Chen Ke's voice echoed in the conference room.

These words vibrated Lu Huitian's eardrums. The feeling of exhaustion and numbness caused by memory just now suddenly disappeared. *That's right, if it's just against those foreign devils, indeed there is no reason for forgiveness. They have so many lives of Chinese people on their hands; killing them is not an injustice at all.*

"However, that's all in the past. What I want to ask now is still the previous words. Everyone, what kind of power do you think you should have in the party organization, and what kind of responsibility should you bear? If we don't understand these, we have no basis to continue."

"Comrade... Wenqing, may I ask what exactly is this basis you are talking about?" The speaker was surprisingly Wang Qinian. As a Cantonese, it seemed Wang Qinian had been studying Pinyin hard during this period; his speech already had quite the meaning of later generations' Cantonese Mandarin.

"Should we obey the Party's discipline? Should we obey the Party organization's resolution? Not only do we have to listen to the Party organization's arrangement, but more importantly, have we done our own work well? If we just say we tried our best to make organizational arrangements but didn't do the thing well. Then I want to ask, is such an answer correct? Regarding this parade, were there regulations (*zhangcheng*) before the parade? If the reason for not doing well was that there was a problem with this arrangement itself, or was there a problem with our comrades' execution?" Chen Ke's voice wasn't harsh, but there was a determination that didn't allow the people below not to answer.

None of the comrades below spoke. This question was indeed difficult to answer now. *Was it questioning that the Party's resolution had problems, or saying that the comrades below executed it with problems?* This could really be said to be a matter where everyone has their own reasons. Because participating in and organizing this Shanghai grand parade was a joint resolution of the party organization, and everyone present participated in the voting. If it were said that only the comrades below executed it with problems, then fewer people would be involved. However, justice is in the hearts of the people. These comrades knew that they didn't consider the problem of policemen opening fire. Moreover, many people's eyes fell on Qi Huishen's face. When Chen Ke was away, although Qi Huishen was faintly the number one person in the Shanghai party organization, he did raise this doubt. In the final vote, Qi Huishen's doubt was vetoed. Qi Huishen also followed everyone's will to formulate the plan afterwards.

Chen Ke was now clearly questioning whether the Party Branch made a mistake or the executing comrades made a mistake. Looking at it now, I'm afraid both had errors, and the Party Branch's error might be more obvious.

"Comrades, as a new political party, I think everyone has studied the Party Constitution. This new-style political party does not want to repeat the mistakes of old-style political parties. Even less does it want to learn the practices of garbage regimes like the Manchu Qing. Facts have proven that we did wrong. Does anyone think this action was successful? If anyone thinks this action was successful, please raise your hand!" Chen Ke asked loudly.

No one raised their hand; many lowered their heads.

"Then who can tell me, what was the purpose of this action?" Chen Ke continued to ask. "Who was the temporary chairman of that Party meeting?"

"It was me." Qi Huishen answered loudly.

"Then Comrade Qi Huishen, please tell me, in the resolution discussed at that Party meeting, what was the purpose of the action?"

Qi Huishen turned out a record and then read aloud, "The People's Party participating in the mass protest action triggered by the Shanghai Mixed Court this time is to contact various local political groups in Shanghai through this action and strengthen influence and rallying power among various groups in Shanghai. The People's Party is now conducting activities under the name of the Whampoa Book Club. Through this parade activity, absorb as much strength as possible to join the Whampoa Book Club." After reading this paragraph, Qi Huishen stopped reading.

Everyone remained silent; this was the joint resolution of the party organization.

Chen Ke scanned the comrades again. Under his bright gaze, many avoided his line of sight, and some straightened their backs and looked back at Chen Ke seriously. After looking at everyone, Chen Ke then said, "This demonstration parade did not achieve our purpose. Then we must find out why we were wrong now. Finding the mistake is so as not to commit this mistake again in the future. It's not for engaging in personnel struggles, nor for overthrowing someone or pushing someone to a high position. Even less is it finding a few people as scapegoats. Everything we do is for the Chinese revolution that our People's Party is going to promote next, for this revolution to succeed, and then liberate the people of all China. So before carrying out the next action, we must understand what requirements, responsibilities, and obligations we have to this party organization. If we don't understand this matter, we will make mistakes next time. This time we had four comrades arrested, and two betrayed, telling the police station many of our internal affairs. Hmm! This is clear proof of not understanding the relationship between us and the party organization."

Chen Ke's voice was sonorous and forceful. The comrades who originally lowered their heads also raised their heads to look back at Chen Ke.

"According to the organizational regulations of the People's Party, everyone has the right to speak, especially regarding this action. Since everyone voted, as the chairman of this meeting, I request that everyone must speak in turn. This meeting will be very long. Now I want everyone to adjourn temporarily. Go to the toilet if you need to; everyone think about what questions you want to raise. After Comrade Hua Xiongmao arrives, we will continue the meeting. Now, adjourn."

As soon as Chen Ke's voice fell, some felt very surprised, and some felt relieved. Chen Ke said to Qi Huishen and You Gou, "You come with me to the office to talk."

The three arrived at Chen Ke's office. This was an office left for Chen Ke in the plan. Chen Ke had left his wife He Ying inside just now. Upon entering, Chen Ke introduced his wife to Qi Huishen. Then he said, "Junjie, you go wander around first; just stay in the school. I have to hold a meeting here."

He Ying had become accustomed to Chen Ke being so busy these days. She asked, "Where do we live? Is it inside the school?"

"Good question. Huishen, where do I live?" Chen Ke asked Qi Huishen first.

"I have already arranged the dormitory. But since Wenqing brought family, I'll adjust it."

The school was now built, and the Party meeting place was in the teaching building. After taking Chen Ke and He Ying to their dormitory, He Ying looked at this four-by-six-meter room and was quite satisfied. There was a bed, a table, and a bookshelf. He Ying said, "Wenqing, you go get busy; I'll arrange the accommodation."

Leaving the dormitory building, Qi Huishen laughed, "Sister-in-law is really reasonable."

"En, I also feel very lucky." Chen Ke laughed. While walking, they saw the gate open, and Hua Xiongmao came in from afar. Spotting Chen Ke and Qi Huishen, Hua Xiongmao immediately ran over. Arriving close, he shook hands with Chen Ke tightly. "Wenqing, you are finally back. With you away, many things are really completely different."

These words were spoken sincerely. Chen Ke couldn't help stealing a glance at Qi Huishen's expression. He saw Qi Huishen looked calm, without the slightest anger or disappointment. Only then did Chen Ke say, "Zheng Lan, it's good you are fine. Regarding the work in Shanghai, achievements are primary. Revolution, well, there will always be setbacks. Now hurry back to the meeting."