The *Analects* is not very long; it mostly consists of aphorisms, where almost every section could be expanded into a full argumentative essay. It is not inappropriate that later disciples called it "subtle words with profound meaning." The problem is that the content is voluminous. Trying to memorize it all, let alone having a personal perspective on every passage, is already very difficult—not to mention being asked to produce specific content on the spot.

Ren Qiying demanded that "Brother Sun" identify exactly which sentence in the *Analects* stated that women could not go out on the streets or work. This immediately stumped "Brother Sun." He had spoken with such absolute certainty just a moment ago, and Ren Qiying had pinned him down on his claim that "the Sage" referred to Confucius. Now, after wracking his brain, he couldn't say a word.

"Brother Zhu," standing beside him, saw that things were going south. If "Brother Sun" were stumped by this young woman, Ren Qiying, in front of such a dark mass of women, where would the face of *Tongcheng Night Talk* go if word got out? Regardless of the consequences, "Brother Zhu" stiffened his neck and said, "Only women and small men are hard to handle."

"Oh? You remembered that one?" Ren Qiying sneered. "In the *Ba Yi* chapter, 'The head of the Ji family was about to sacrifice to Mount Tai. The Master said to Ran You...' what is the sentence after that?"

"Brother Zhu's" face turned extremely ugly. The next sentence was, "Can you not save him?" (Nu fu neng jiu yu). In this context, the character *nu* (woman) is a loan character for *ru* (you).

Before "Brother Zhu" could come up with an objection, he heard Ren Qiying continue with a cold sneer, "There are eighteen 'woman' characters in the *Analects*, and seventeen of them are used as 'you'. How is it that only in this one sentence did Confucius use 'woman' in its literal sense? Sir, I'm afraid you are comparing yourself to Yang Huo or the disciples of Confucius, aren't you?"

This remark was ruthless. "Only women and small men are hard to handle" comes from the *Yang Huo* chapter of the *Analects*. Yang Huo was a standard rebellious official and traitor. If "woman" meant "you," then this was Confucius cursing Yang Huo. Even if Confucius said it to his students, it would be the old master scolding his students for not making progress. It absolutely could not be considered praise.

The faces of "Brother Sun" and "Brother Zhu" were turning green. They had never had the experience of discussing the *Analects* with women, let alone with a woman who understood the *Analects*. Under such an attack, the two couldn't find any words to respond.

Ren Qiying had no intention of quitting while she was ahead. She continued to sneer, "I thought you would mention the *Tai Bo* chapter. King Wu said, 'I have ten able ministers.' Confucius said, 'Talent is difficult to find, is it not? From the times of Tang and Yu, this was the peak. There was a woman among them, so there were only nine men.' But even if you mentioned this, that woman was a minister of King Wu. You few sour scholars haven't even held office. If you were in the time of King Wu, and that woman who served as King Wu's minister went out, you would have to kowtow and kneel if you met her on the road. If you didn't kneel well enough, you'd get the bamboo plank at best, or lose your heads at worst. Compared to that woman, you are nothing but grass and mustard."

The faces of "Brother Sun" and "Brother Zhu" were no longer just green; they were flashing between red and white. If men were discussing the *Analects*, they naturally wouldn't speak up for women like this. Moreover, when men discussed the *Analects*, there was no place for women to interrupt. But Ren Qiying was not only a woman, she was also the local chief administrator of Anqing City, just like that female minister of King Wu. In terms of power, Ren Qiying stood high above these literati of *Tongcheng Night Talk*. When Ren Qiying displayed sufficient scholarship, the two were completely unable to resist. The Confucian tradition was one of strict hierarchy; the difference in status and identity meant that Ren Qiying was naturally more noble than the two of them.

But if they submitted now, it would mean the total defeat of *Tongcheng Night Talk*. The People's Party had not employed old literati up to this point. Even those who had defected to the People's Party and were being used, like Yan Fu and Feng Xu, were men of such strong ability and great reputation that a group of scholars in this place like Anqing dared not compare themselves to them. They had no reputation to begin with; if they were refuted by a woman now, they really wouldn't need to mix in Anqing's literary circles anymore.

Thinking it over, there was absolutely no way to refute Ren Qiying in a short time. In his desperation, "Brother Sun" said, almost flustered and exasperated, "King Wu having a woman as an official, that was in the past. At present, we cannot be stuck in the past."

"Stuck in the past?" Ren Qiying couldn't help but laugh out loud. "You have the nerve to say such things. Just a moment ago, you said that liberating women violated the teachings of the Sage, that letting women show their faces in public ruined public morals. How is it that now, saying women can be officials is 'stuck in the past'? You said Confucius opposed women's liberation, but when I asked you to state where Confucius said that, you couldn't. What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Brother Sun" and "Brother Zhu" could say nothing more. "Brother Sun" reacted quickly, however; he suddenly let out a cold laugh, turned around, and slammed the courtyard door shut heavily, as if giving Ren Qiying the cold shoulder. Since these remarks were all citations from the *Analects*, the women behind Ren Qiying didn't quite understand what the words meant. Although they knew Ren Qiying had gained the upper hand, seeing the man named Sun acting so arrogantly, someone immediately shouted, "Speak reason if you have reason! Who are you slamming the door at?"

Ren Qiying was also furious inside. Even if old literati lost an argument and ran out of words, they would usually say a few polite conventional phrases. Slamming the door so abruptly showed not a trace of the demeanor of an old scholar. But Ren Qiying was the mayor after all, and she couldn't get sulky over such a small matter. Turning around, Ren Qiying shouted to the angry women behind her, "Fellow female compatriots, the women's liberation movement is unstoppable. No matter who stands in front of the women's movement and tries to stop it, they are eggs striking a rock—they will surely be crushed. So everyone must have confidence. The rule of the women's movement is that everyone is equal before labor. As long as everyone sticks to this rule, our People's Party will definitely back up the vast number of women, allowing you to support yourselves by your own means. You will never have to suffer anyone's anger again."

Seeing Ren Qiying's determined expression and hearing her powerful voice, the women applauded in unison. The women standing in the front row stepped forward one after another to shake hands with Ren Qiying. Ren Qiying also shook hands with every woman openly and generously. Whether the palms were rough or delicate, Ren Qiying's attitude toward every woman was equally warm.

On April 15, 1913, the People's Party's *Anqing Daily* officially began its propaganda campaign. Upholding the instructions of the Central Committee, the newspaper did not focus on recalling the "bitterness and deep hatred" of women's miserable pasts. Instead, it faced the future. It not only pointed out the bright future era to women but also appealed to the whole of society: "In a new era where labor is the measure of a person's social value, if oppressing humans becomes a reasonable existence, if oppressing women becomes a reasonable existence, then oppressing men will also become a common occurrence. If you do not want to be bullied, the only path is to thoroughly eliminate oppression."

The vernacular story "Benediction" was also published in the newspaper, very appropriate for the occasion.

*Tongcheng Night Talk* fell silent. The female typesetters at the printing bureau resolutely opposed printing the *Tongcheng Night Talk* newspaper. Seeing that Mayor Ren Qiying was implicitly involved in this matter, and that the urban women's liberation movement was in full swing, the printing bureau simply politely refused *Tongcheng Night Talk*'s application for printing. With the platform for this bunch of old literati to speak destroyed, they became a silent minority.

It wasn't just Anqing; according to intelligence gathered by the People's Party Central Committee, the women's liberation movement was proceeding well in all cities with a large number of factories. The Women's Federation expanded rapidly, and women dared to speak up. Many comrades in the Central Committee expressed optimism about such a situation. But Chen Ke did not look too happy.

Cities were the areas with the highest national administrative efficiency. With a complete household registration system, a rigorous system, a high proportion of government management departments, and a high employment rate, if women's liberation couldn't even be mobilized in the cities, it could only mean the People's Party's standards were too lousy. Therefore, the intelligence received at the moment did not merit unconditional optimism. At least in Chen Ke's view, two key statistics were far from reaching a level that satisfied him. But Chen Ke did not voice his thoughts. Nothing could be accomplished in one stroke, and women's liberation was the same. To have the current achievements, where women at least dared to oppose those guys who blatantly demanded the suppression of the women's liberation movement, could be considered real progress.

If Chen Ke didn't say it, someone would always say it. Lu Huitian raised the issue, "Chairman Chen, the female enrollment rate and the female employment rate have not increased immediately. Should we issue a document specifically to urge this?"

Zhang Yu did not directly sing a contrary tune this time, and the other comrades of the Central Committee also remained silent, making Lu Huitian feel a bit uncomfortable. Seeing that the meeting was about to go cold, Chen Ke said, "This all takes time. Increasing the female employment rate also involves investment issues. For now, we must grasp the construction of various night schools and training classes. We must prepare for the coming peak in employment."

Seeing that Chen Ke had made the decision, Lu Huitian said excitedly, "Once the equipment from the United States arrives this time, the scale of industrial workers will definitely expand. However, the comrades at the Commission of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense don't seem very supportive of the night schools."

The population of the Wuhan urban area was currently close to 900,000, the highest among the People's Party cities. Wuhan was currently the People's Party's largest industrial center. If it could obtain more imported equipment from the United States, Wuhan would develop even faster. Based on this, Lu Huitian's excitement was completely imaginable.

Zhang Yu finally spoke up. "Chairman Chen, the women's liberation movement looks very lively right now, but in actual advancement, the effects seem limited."

Finally, someone dared to mention this. Chen Ke saw the expressions of quite a few Central Committee members turn not so good. Zhang Yu had already made it clear to the Central Committee that he wanted to go to Henan to work. The Central Committee didn't have any strong objections. However, Henan had a large population and vast land, and it would inevitably be the first to bear the brunt of the war in the future. Chen Ke still hoped Zhang Yu could absorb more experience before setting off. Especially work like women's liberation, which had never been done before.

"To analyze this problem, we still have to start from contradictions. I think Comrade Ren Qiying did a good job this time. All the intelligence indicates one thing: regarding liberating women, the male comrades are all taking things for granted." Chen Ke had to criticize.

Those present were basically all men, and this "map cannon" fired by Chen Ke left the comrades quite stunned.

Chen Ke had no intention of playing charades. "Women's liberation is not a feminist movement. Some people might feel that women's liberation means giving women a lot of power. I think this is also going down the wrong path. Women's power is won by themselves in struggle. Giving women power out of thin air, thinking that women can be liberated by the bestowal of our People's Party and government—this is daydreaming and is doomed to fail. We want to create a system where everyone is equal before labor. Do not treat this issue as the highest program, but rather, later on, when men and women can undertake a certain post equally, can we give women equal selection rights? But no matter what, this is built on the foundation of labor. It is not about seeing a woman and thinking of liberating women. Therefore, I think Comrade Ren Qiying did the best. As a woman herself, she precisely did not indulge women without a bottom line."