In the world of 1907, anyone who could support a "republican system" instead of a monarchy was considered a leftist. In China, such people were definitely radical revolutionaries. So when Lin Juemin heard Chen Ke sneer at the parliamentary system, his face suddenly flushed red. For a moment, Lin Juemin suddenly had a suspicion: he suspected Chen Ke was a royalist. Or Chen Ke himself was preparing to be the emperor.

But Lin Juemin thought again and felt his idea was a bit too extreme. Because Lin Juemin knew that most of his dissatisfaction was because Chen Ke had relentlessly ridiculed the "parliamentary system" just now.

Calming himself down, Lin Juemin asked, "Mr. Chen, don't you think we should promote equality and freedom?"

Chen Ke asked in return, "What is equality, and what is freedom? You have to give a reason, right?"

Lin Juemin tentatively said, "It means no one can override others; this is equality. Whatever you do cannot be stopped by others without reason; this is freedom."

"I won't play word games with the freedom to kill and set fires. I'll ask a very realistic question: Does anyone here believe that praying to the Dragon King in a dry field will bring rain?"

The revolutionary youths looked at each other. These youths were considered enlightened youths and didn't believe much in feudal superstition. But even so, they were not thorough atheists like Chen Ke.

Seeing the uncomfortable looks of the youths, Chen Ke changed his wording. "Then let me ask a simpler question. Gentlemen, before taking the boat, did you offer incense to Mazu?"

These youths were from Guangdong and Fujian. They dared not be disrespectful to a sea goddess like Mazu. Everyone nodded or simply admitted it frankly.

"Our People's Party are materialists; we don't believe in gods or Buddhas. As for you gentlemen, if you want to seek peace of mind, then go worship gods; I don't think there is any problem. We believe there should be the right to freedom of religion. If a person prays to gods and Buddhas just for their own peace of mind, this is personal freedom. Although I think it's ridiculous, this is a permissible freedom. But if someone manipulates religion for personal purposes to achieve their own pursuit of interests, do you think this kind of religious freedom can exist? For example, those foreign missionaries who come up and say you are guilty, and then threaten and intimidate people into believing in their religion. Do you think this kind of freedom is allowed to exist?"

The revolutionary youths roughly understood Chen Ke's meaning, and everyone expressed their stance that such freedom must not be allowed to exist.

"So, what I want to say is that any freedom, any power of the people, has a bottom line. This bottom line is science and democracy. Science is not just those common-sense knowledges. Science is a materialist attitude. Science first makes us understand that this world can ultimately be known by us, but we haven't realized the whole of the world yet. So we must expand our cognitive range by developing productive forces. Instead of coming up with some illusory thing to fool everyone. And democracy is built on the basis of science, promoting the people's living standards, cultural levels, and cognitive levels by developing science and productive forces. So for us, many things must be thoroughly overthrown, and must be suppressed by means of people's dictatorship. We do not allow anti-scientific and anti-democratic things to exist. Even less do we allow opposing science and democracy under the banner of equality and freedom."

Lin Juemin fell silent. He had always advocated equality and freedom, and Lin Juemin had been smart and eager to learn since childhood. Talking about politics with friends in school, he could always impress everyone. But facing Chen Ke's revolutionary theory opposing "equality and freedom," he felt surprisingly powerless to refute. Although he didn't know Chen Ke's entire theoretical basis, Lin Juemin intuitively felt that what Chen Ke said was only a very small part of this set of theories.

"Does that mean we don't want equality and freedom?" Lin Juemin couldn't help asking finally.

"Equality and freedom are not theoretical things because equality and freedom are just vocabulary used by humans to express their feelings. Vocabulary is definitely not something universally applicable. But science is different; science treats everyone equally. Everyone should know that the earth is not flat; what is under our feet is a planet called Earth. Whether you believe it or not, this actually exists. Because of the existence of gravity, if you throw a stone into the sky, it will definitely fall to the ground. As long as you are on Earth, whether Chinese or foreigner, old or young, the result of throwing a stone into the sky is the same. This universally applicable science is the program our People's Party adheres to. And the grain grown by farmers is taken away by the officials, gentry, and landlords under the old system through the exploitation system, so the people cannot eat the grain they grow themselves. This is a fact that any farmer must face. So overthrowing this old system and establishing a new system where laborers can eat is the program of our People's Party."

Chen Ke's attitude was very serious. He no longer wanted to "persuade" others to join the Party through persuasion and education. Mobilizing the masses is one thing; "persuading" others to join the Party is a completely different matter. The events in Anqing opened Chen Ke's eyes greatly. He assumed that if he were in Anqing city, the result of his reflection was that he had no better way other than using systems and violence to restrain. Any system without the support of violence is weak and ineffective, and for a revolution, an unprecedentedly violent movement, weakness and ineffectiveness mean failure and destruction.

So facing the brave and fearless "revolutionary predecessors," Chen Ke chose a straightforward statement. He had figured it out now; even without these "revolutionary predecessors," the people's revolution would inevitably triumph. If these people couldn't accept fierce revolutionary theories, Chen Ke felt it was serious business for everyone to part on good terms.

"So, in the process of the people's revolution promoting science and democracy, I don't care what words those people use to describe it; I only look at what they do. If those people oppose the revolution, no matter how much they shout about democracy and freedom, I will overthrow them. Even if they shout science and democracy, I must overthrow them!"

Lin Juemin fell completely silent, and the revolutionary youths who came with him didn't speak either. Fang Shengdong had a fierce personality. After hearing Chen Ke's violent words, he stood there frozen, staring straight at Chen Ke as if immobilized by magic.

Luo Nailin was the oldest and recovered earliest. He looked at Chen Ke with awe. "Mr. Chen, then your revolution is not just to overthrow the Manchu Qing and restore China?"

"Not my revolution, but the people's revolution. The people have suffered for so many years; they want to live a better life. Only science and democracy can save the people. So the entire old China must be completely shattered, and then a new China must be rebuilt on the theory of science and democracy. Instead of overthrowing the Manchu Qing and then using theories like parliamentary republicanism that fool children to create warlord chaos."

"Why is Mr. Chen so hostile to the parliamentary republican system?" The tone of Lin Juemin's question this time was no longer a rebuttal caused by anger; he was truly puzzled by Chen Ke's attitude.

Chen Ke could understand Lin Juemin's attitude. To Lin Juemin, the parliamentary republican system was a form that had never appeared. At least theoretically, the parliamentary republican system was indeed much more advanced than the current system of the Manchu Qing. But Chen Ke stood downstream of history a hundred years later. He knew that the people's revolution like a violent storm had washed away the dust and created a brand-new powerful China.

In 1949, that man solemnly announced on the Tiananmen Gate tower, "The Chinese people have stood up." And China at that time was just a recognized weak country. It could be said that in 1949, traitors had no door to sell the country. Because if foreigners wanted to plunder anything from China, they could just attack directly. But after the Korean War, those traitors finally had a powerful motherland to sell for a price.

And just 23 years after 1949, US President Nixon's visit to China in 1972 proved that China was already a decisive force in the world. All middle exploitation classes were cleaned out. On the basis of poverty and blankness, the average life expectancy of Chinese people doubled, massive agricultural water conservancy facilities were built, and basic people's education was realized. Several foreign wars proved China's strong military power to the world, and the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" proved China's technological capabilities.

23 years could make China grow from the abyss into a universally recognized important force in the world again. And from 1911 to 1949, a full 38 years, China's world status declined day by day. How could Chen Ke have any good feelings for the parliamentary republican system? No matter how bewitching this thing sounded, if this theory couldn't actually set China on the road to revival, then the value of this theory was not even as good as a pile of dog shit that could fertilize the land.

Moreover, if this system was merely useless, it would be fine. Chen Ke knew how much evil and slaughter forces under the banner of parliamentary republicanism created in China after the Xinhai Revolution. He knew even better what crappy things these European and American countries that flaunted democracy and freedom did. He even had the opportunity to see what kind of crisis Europe and America caused due to the defects of the capitalist system itself.

So regarding Lin Juemin's rhetorical question, Chen Ke felt unable to answer and disdained to answer. He couldn't tell Lin Juemin that this was the proof of history Chen Ke saw. And Chen Ke was never a person who held deep sympathy for losers. Chen Ke believed that following correct and effective theories was a matter of course. It was a basic quality that a person unwilling to be abandoned by the times should possess.

However, Chen Ke couldn't say nothing. He pondered for a while before saying, "Regarding this kind of thing, I only insist on my own point of view. As for what it will become in the future, history will naturally have a public verdict."

"History's public verdict?" Luo Nailin repeated in a low voice, then asked, "What exactly is Mr. Chen's intention in calling us here?"

"I originally heard that you are all excellent revolutionary youths, so I hoped everyone could join the People's Party and contribute to the people's revolution. But at that time, I didn't know you had already joined other parties. Our People's Party is willing to cooperate fully with other parties to promote the revolution. But we absolutely do not accept people who insist on other political views joining the People's Party, let alone accepting people from other parties joining the People's Party as individuals. So if you are interested in the People's Party, you might as well stay in our base area to have a look, or participate in work within your capacity. If you are not interested, we will give you travel expenses to go home."

"What are you saying, Mr. Chen?" Fang Shengdong had recovered from the shock just now. "We came to the base area originally wanting to contribute to promoting the revolution. Since we came, we didn't plan to leave. Whether to join the People's Party can be discussed later, but serving the people's revolution is our duty."

Chen Ke was psychologically unmoved. He smiled, "If that's the case, our base area welcomes you. We will arrange for you to work in the base area."

Chen Ke asked the Logistics Department to arrange these people to work in the logistics department, which wasn't deliberately making things difficult. The Logistics Department was now responsible for breeding farms, which could be said to be the agricultural sector with the highest technological content in China now. Moreover, the breeding farms employed a large number of female laborers and were also the most gender-equal labor enterprises in China now. This world is constantly changing. For example, in the major industrial countries of the 21st century, even the conservative right wing promotes the political view of "equality between men and women" to a certain extent; this political view is already a consensus. But in 1907, if any political party dared to publicly support "equality between men and women," it would definitely be considered an out-and-out extreme leftist. Since Lin Juemin and the others were revolutionaries, Chen Ke thought they needed to accept the views of "labor is the most glorious" and "equality between men and women." If these revolutionary youths felt they shouldn't "do these menial farm jobs," then these people could leave. Chen Ke had no thought of retaining them at all.

Fang Shengdong and the others didn't know Chen Ke's arrangement. They participated in the "revolutionary movement" with joy and apprehension. They all knew the People's Party's base area was very large. So they couldn't imagine what work would be arranged for them. That night they found themselves actually incorporated into hundreds of Japanese people. This shock left these revolutionary youths speechless. Lin Juemin was the most surprised. If not for Chen Ke's invitation, Lin Juemin would have gone to Japan to study. He had even specially learned Japanese. Lin Juemin was very eager to learn and mastered Japanese quickly. He was originally worried about his limited Japanese level and planned to learn Japanese properly from Japanese people when he arrived in Japan. He now discovered that following the Japanese to improve his Japanese level didn't require going to Japan at all.

After finishing the morning drill the next day, the revolutionary youths first attended class, and then were force-fed some basic biology. They came into contact with the concepts of "food chain" and "protein."

Starting from the third day, everyone went to the countryside to participate in "revolutionary work," which was the work of slaughtering ducks. Female ducks could be kept for laying eggs, while male ducks could only provide meat. Although Lin Juemin and the others felt they dared to go into battle to kill the enemy, asking them to slaughter ducks deftly was a considerable stimulation. Holding a butcher knife in one hand and pinching the duck's neck in the other, Lin Juemin just couldn't cut down. The instructor had seen much of this kind of thing. He came over and asked pleasantly, "Do you still want to recite the *Rebirth Mantra* for this duck?"

Lin Juemin blushed. He looked up at the instructor's kind but uncompromising expression. Hardening his heart, he didn't dare look at the duck's neck and cut down with one stroke. The duck in his hand was originally obedient, but with this cut, the duck struggled its neck out of Lin Juemin's hand in severe pain, then quacked and flew and jumped around. Because the neck was injured, duck blood sprayed, and Fang Shengdong next to him got a lot splashed on his face. Startled, Fang Shengdong applied force with his palm. The duck in his hand felt suffocated and immediately struggled desperately. Fang Shengdong was afraid the duck would run away, so he grasped the duck's neck tightly with both hands. Not long after, the duck became honest, not because it no longer felt fear, but because it was strangled to death by Fang Shengdong.

The Japanese comrades were already quite skilled at killing ducks. The reason they couldn't go to other posts was that their Chinese education hadn't been completed yet. They killed ducks and drained blood skillfully. For every duck Lin Juemin, Fang Shengdong, and others killed, they killed at least four. This made these southern revolutionary youths very embarrassed.

The instructor didn't criticize these people. Everyone was the same at the beginning; it would be fine after doing it more. But when the Japanese revolutionary comrades began to pluck feathers skillfully, the instructor called the southern revolutionary youths together to start dissecting the duck corpses. If duck raisers didn't even know the physiological structure of ducks, it would be too much like child's play. The dissected duck corpses were bloody, and the southern revolutionary youths felt nauseous watching and smelling them.

In the evening, eating duck meat soup, more than half of the southern revolutionary youths had no appetite. Luo Nailin practiced martial arts and recovered much faster than others. He usually didn't like to talk, but seeing the comrades' performance, he had to say, "Eat quickly. Where will you get the strength to work tomorrow without eating?"

After everyone finished eating, they went back to the dormitory to rest. Lin Juemin didn't want to learn any Japanese anymore. He heard Fang Shengdong in the lower bunk ask, "Is this revolution?"

None of these southern revolutionary youths came from a poor background. When they made uprising plans, logistical work was always done by buying. They were very unaccustomed to the People's Party's self-sufficient model. During class, the instructor had talked about simple issues of the People's Party's logistical supply system. Lin Juemin could accept this self-sufficient model in his heart, but he didn't know how to answer Fang Shengdong's question.

No one answered this question, and Fang Shengdong didn't fully expect others to answer. He let out a long breath, but it wasn't known what he was thinking, and he didn't ask anything more. After a tired day, Lin Juemin only felt sleepier and sleepier. He didn't understand his work very well. Preparing food for comrades wasn't outrageous, nor was it a job to be looked down upon. Lin Juemin had an inexplicable resistance in his heart, yet felt he didn't know how to describe it. Various knowledge, insights, and practical work experiences mixed together, making Lin Juemin's head dizzy. Young people slept well; thinking and thinking, he fell asleep unknowingly.