Ma Xiangbo, Principal and Director of Fudan Public School, was almost 77 years old on February 15, 1917. He stood stubbornly at the gate of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, leaning on his cane and staring into the sea breeze. Whenever anyone came to persuade Ma Xiangbo to rest nearby first, Ma Xiangbo only demanded that Yan Fu come to see him personally. The staff also felt very troubled; a 77-year-old man, almost 80 by traditional reckoning. Who dared to forcibly move such a highly respected old man? If the old man fell to the ground, who could explain it clearly?

Yan Fu had been hiding in the military-controlled Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau for more than a month, afraid to go out. After talking with Mr. Ma Xiangbo a few times, Yan Fu didn't even dare to attend Ma Xiangbo's banquets. Being blocked at the door by Ma Xiangbo for more than an hour, the staff kept sending messages to Yan Fu. Yan Fu could only obediently come out and invite Ma Xiangbo into the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau to talk.

"Jidao, I have set a bad precedent this time, and I am very uneasy in my heart." Mr. Ma Xiangbo apologized to Yan Fu first.

Ma Xiangbo was Cai Yuanpei's teacher. What was there to say about a teacher stepping forward for his disciple? Yan Fu laughed: "Mr. Xiangbo, if you have anything to say, you might as well say it all at once. But my attitude has long been determined. Whatever the court rules, that is how it will be executed."

"Jidao, I still want to ask you to intercede with Wenqing about this matter. Jiemin did order the killing of many people, but after all, he didn't kill anyone with his own hands. Even if he is sentenced to life imprisonment, what harm is there? Wang Shizhen of Beiyang fought so many battles with you, yet didn't you release him? Why be so harsh on Jiemin?" Ma Xiangbo said.

Yan Fu was afraid to see these literati because he feared this kind of entanglement. Wang Shizhen did create a huge blood debt in Shandong, but that was a political measure of the Manchu Qing group. Wang Shizhen did not create bloody cases for personal purposes to claim credit and rewards. Although the facts were cruel, the cruelty of the implementation lay in the fact that Wang Shizhen was a member of the Manchu Qing ruling class, so he naturally had to maintain the interests of the Manchu Qing ruling group. This was a problem of the political group, not Wang Shizhen's personal problem. Facing direct challenges, Wang Shizhen made his own judgment and decision. If responsibility were to be pursued on the charge of being accomplices, every member of the Manchu Qing group deserved to die, and every one of them deserved to be killed. By the same logic, in the April 12 Counter-Revolutionary Massacre, all participants from Beiyang and the Guangfu Society should also be executed.

Raising the point that those who did not kill with their own hands should not be executed, Yan Fu was not sure whether Ma Xiangbo did it intentionally or unintentionally. But he was very clear about one thing: if not for Cai Yuanpei's planning, would those specific executors have been so bored as to run to Western Zhejiang to carry out a massacre?

Not understanding Ma Xiangbo's thoughts, Yan Fu understood the literati's thoughts. They were such a group of people; they never did things themselves, they always directed others to do it. If successful, the credit naturally belonged to the commander. Once something went wrong, the literati believed that the executor was the guilty one. Those who dared to act like Tan Sitong, who had the chance to run but didn't, proving the justice they pursued with their blood, were always the minority among the minority of such literati.

"Mr. Xiangbo, this is a criminal case. Someone killed people..." Yan Fu could only respond to Ma Xiangbo with such a most ordinary explanation.

But Ma Xiangbo interrupted Yan Fu, "Jidao, I'm not asking to say Jiemin is innocent. After all, so many people died. Not only did your People's Party publish the public trial, but foreign newspapers participating in the public trial also published the trial. The evidence is all there; I certainly can't turn a blind eye. You also said that Jiemin participated in planning the events in Western Zhejiang, but you didn't say Jiemin personally killed anyone. If one must say, Jiemin's life and death are in your hands."

Yan Fu sighed. The last few times, he and Ma Xiangbo couldn't agree on this matter no matter what, which finally made Yan Fu not want to see Ma Xiangbo again. This time was still the same. Yan Fu patiently said: "Mr. Xiangbo, we judge anything never based on personal likes and dislikes. Seeking truth from facts is the only standard for the People's Party to judge things."

Ma Xiangbo heard Yan Fu say this kind of thing several times, and he also knew that Yan Fu couldn't make any concessions in this regard. Also sighing, Ma Xiangbo said: "Jidao, come to think of it, more than ten years ago, it was I who asked you to accept Chen Ke as a disciple. I am already old, and I generally can't remember things from these ten-plus years clearly, but the things from that time are vivid in my mind. I wonder if you, Jidao, can still remember what I said back then?"

Hearing Ma Xiangbo mention the past, a smile finally appeared on Yan Fu's face. Yan Fu felt deeply empathetic to Ma Xiangbo's feelings about these ten-plus years. For Yan Fu, twelve years passed in a flash, really just a snap of the fingers. But Yan Fu clearly remembered that day more than ten years ago. Ma Xiangbo was ill, and Yan Fu sat in the outer room of Ma Xiangbo's sickbed and saw Chen Ke's book for the first time. When the two talked, Ma Xiangbo asked Yan Fu to accept Chen Ke as a disciple. At that time, Ma Xiangbo said: "This book will inevitably become popular in the world. The principles described by the author, even if not the ultimate truth of the heavenly way, are by no means heresy. Young people who read it will surely follow in droves. Jidao, the person who wrote this book is a genius given by heaven. If you are willing, I would like you to accept him as a disciple. If no one disciplines him, this person will probably bring disaster to the world."

At that time, Yan Fu was very surprised that a great scholar like Ma Xiangbo would attach such importance to Chen Ke. If it weren't for Ma Xiangbo's request, Yan Fu might have missed Chen Ke, or at least Yan Fu very likely wouldn't have accepted Chen Ke as a disciple.

Looking back at the past, the smile on Yan Fu's face quickly disappeared. He had actually participated in the revolutionary work presided over by Chen Ke for ten years. In these ten years, Yan Fu did countless jobs, worrying about the immediate situation and China's future every day. Where did he have time to recall the beginning? Now Yan Fu suddenly felt he somewhat understood the reason for Ma Xiangbo's request back then.

Because he wasn't sure, Yan Fu couldn't help asking: "Mr. Xiangbo, were you afraid back then that Wenqing would lay hands on the literati?"

Seeing that Yan Fu had remembered the past, Ma Xiangbo sighed and said: "I didn't expect Wenqing to have today's achievements at that time. I just felt that the reasoning Wenqing stated at that time was extremely domineering. What he said was certainly correct, but it lacked any heart of compassion and mercy. Using Confucian principles, but acting entirely in the style of Legalists. Outer Confucianism and inner Legalism, the implementation must be harsh governance. Wenqing wants to walk the great road of saving the country. My ability couldn't help him at all, which is why I asked you, Jidao, to be Wenqing's teacher."

"So Mr. Xiangbo now wants me to stand on the side of the literati?" Yan Fu asked.

Hearing Yan Fu's words, Mr. Ma Xiangbo's face looked even worse. These days, pondering repeatedly over Cai Yuanpei's matter, Ma Xiangbo figured out why he firmly opposed the execution of Cai Yuanpei. Why did literati always talk about Qin Shi Huang "burning books and burying scholars"? Chen Ke had noted in the book series "Chinese Cultural Inheritance and the Rise of Materialism" that most of the books burned by Qin Shi Huang back then were books on witchcraft and monsters, and most of those buried were alchemists. Corresponding to the People's Party's practice, that is strictly cracking down on feudal secret societies.

Literati had no intention of complaining on behalf of alchemists. Their purpose in attacking Qin Shi Huang was to oppose the Legalist policy of governing the country implemented by Qin Shi Huang. In order to attack Qin Shi Huang's Legalist concept of governing the country, literati even distorted facts and confused the public.

Ma Xiangbo didn't want to distort facts on the matter of Cai Yuanpei because the facts couldn't be hidden at all. The people of Western Zhejiang were all there, and witness and material evidence were complete. Cai Yuanpei himself also confessed candidly to what he had done.

Chen Ke proved with his practical actions that he was truly a guy who "unified knowledge and action." Ma Xiangbo paid extreme attention to Chen Ke's trial in Western Zhejiang, plus a series of dramatic works created by Zhou Shuren performed in various places. After careful comparison, Ma Xiangbo found corresponding content in Chen Ke's books.

The Qin Code stipulated a set of litigation systems: public prosecution and non-public prosecution. The People's Party had a system of criminal prosecutors and civil burden of proof and appeal.

The judicial organs of the Qin State were divided into three levels: central, commandery, and county. The People's Party had the distinction of courts, intermediate courts, and high courts.

In the central government of the Qin State, the emperor held the highest judicial power. The Tingwei (Minister of Justice) tried national cases. The Yushi Dafu (Censor-in-chief) and Jiancha Yushi (Monitoring Censors) supervised the law nationwide. The People's Party completely copied this, with the system and distinction of Public Security, Procuratorate, and Court. Zhou Shuren's plays emphasized these aspects strongly.

In details, in the Qin State, lawsuits could be filed by victims or by state officials. During interrogation, torture to extract confessions was generally not advocated; on-site inspection and evidence collection were emphasized; a "written report" system was implemented; and appeals were allowed after judgment.

Even the requirement during the trial process of the Qin State court that "when the prisoner is making a statement, even if the judge knows the prisoner is lying, he cannot interrupt the prisoner's statement" was implemented without any difference.

No matter what you think, it only matters what you did. After doing something, if you violated the law, you have to take responsibility.

Chen Ke praised the existence of the "Qin Law": "The principles of conviction and sentencing in the Qin Dynasty included: determining criminal responsibility capacity; distinguishing between intent and negligence; distinguishing the severity of criminal consequences; aggravated punishment for joint crimes and recidivism; false accusation counter-punishment; aggravated punishment for abettors; lighter punishment for surrender, etc. It was the only conscious era of classical rule of law in Chinese history and has an irreplaceable historical status in the history of Chinese civilization. Before the Qin Law, China was in the era of rule by ritual. After Qin, China was in the era of rule by man. Only in the one hundred and sixty years or so from Shang Yang's reform to Qin Shi Huang's unification of China did China enter a relatively complete classical rule of law society. This is the greatest pride and the greatest civilized creation of the Chinese nation in the era of original civilization and even the entire classical civilization."

However, in the eyes of literati, this was not "the greatest pride, the greatest civilized creation" at all; this was harsh punishment and cruel laws; this was the obliteration of humanity.

Ma Xiangbo naturally felt deep sympathy for the experience of the people in Western Zhejiang. He believed that even if the people of Western Zhejiang acted radically, it did not warrant the death penalty. Similarly, Ma Xiangbo believed that regardless of what thoughts or even difficulties Cai Yuanpei had, sentencing Cai Yuanpei to death solely on the grounds of participating in the April 12 Massacre was also unfair. If not for the incitement of Yuan Shikai of Beiyang, if not for the support and usurpation of Feng Guozhang, if not for the local landlords and gentry taking a chicken feather for a command arrow and wantonly using the "party purge" order launched by Cai Yuanpei to eliminate dissidents, Western Zhejiang would absolutely not have been killed like that.

In these aspects, the People's Party investigated very clearly even during the court trial process. So Ma Xiangbo didn't understand. Since the People's Party was unwilling to wrong Cai Yuanpei, why couldn't the People's Party let Cai Yuanpei off the hook because of his difficulties?

So Ma Xiangbo couldn't help but suspect the reason behind the People's Party's firm attitude. Was it because Cai Yuanpei publicly opposed the People's Party? Was it because Cai Yuanpei publicly attacked and accused the People's Party of various political platforms? Was it because of these that the People's Party wanted to use the name of the people to chop off Cai Yuanpei's head as a warning?

Based on these concerns, Ma Xiangbo took action to try to rescue Cai Yuanpei. The achievements established by the People's Party so far were undeniable, but the cold and ruthless actions shown by the People's Party, with no heart of tolerance, made Ma Xiangbo very worried. Would such a powerful political force composed entirely of young people run all the way onto the old path of the Qin State? Ma Xiangbo believed that if things really developed like this, it would not only be the tragedy of the People's Party, not only the tragedy of Chen Ke whom Ma Xiangbo appreciated quite a lot, not only the tragedy of those Fudan Public School students who joined the People's Party, but also the tragedy of literati under heaven, and the tragedy of the entire China.

Back then, Ma Xiangbo just had an indescribable sense of alertness towards Chen Ke. At that time, Chen Ke was just a distinctive young man. When asking Yan Fu to accept Chen Ke as a disciple, Ma Xiangbo mostly wanted to give Chen Ke a hand. He didn't think of placing any chess pieces in the People's Party first. Not to mention that Yan Fu was by no means the kind of person to be a chess piece for others.

Now, Ma Xiangbo found that apart from being able to ask Yan Fu for help, he had no other way to go. Hearing Yan Fu's sentence "So Mr. Xiangbo now wants me to stand on the side of the literati?", Ma Xiangbo felt a chill in his heart. The meaning of these words was surprisingly that Yan Fu also believed Cai Yuanpei should be killed.

Ma Xiangbo said sternly: "Jidao, Jiemin's fault is not excessive even if he redeems it with death. But if there is no heart of compassion and mercy, and only blind implementation of harsh governance, this is the reason why the Qin Dynasty died in the second generation. This is a lesson from the past!"

"Blind implementation of harsh governance is the reason why the Qin Dynasty died in the second generation?" Yan Fu couldn't help laughing out loud. Although Chen Ke never called himself a historian, Chen Ke loved to talk about history. He also combined the history he told with the reality of the People's Party.

The reason for the death of the Qin Dynasty in the second generation was firstly the collapse of internal order. Li Si participated in Zhao Gao's rebellious act, tampered with the will, supported Hu Hai, and killed Fu Su and Meng Tian. Then came the wanton massacre of his own brothers. After this nonsense, the internal order of the entire Qin Dynasty was gone. This was the reason Chen Ke repeatedly emphasized organizational discipline. To break through a solid fortress, either the cornerstones at the foot of these fortresses turn into gravel, causing the fortress to collapse with a crash, or internal chaos within the fortress leads to chaos inside. The collapse of the Qin State was indeed related to the imperfection of the Qin State system, and the harsh order did lead to the expansion of internal strife. But Yan Fu already understood clearly that the relationship between the cruel laws of the Qin State and the collapse of the Qin State mentioned by Ma Xiangbo was not based on a realistic attitude, but on an attitude from the standpoint of literati.

Seeing Yan Fu laughing so hard that tears almost came out, Ma Xiangbo couldn't help asking somewhat annoyedly: "Why do you laugh, Jidao?"

Yan Fu managed to stop laughing, "Mr. Xiangbo, I really haven't seen what harsh punishments and cruel laws our People's Party has used."

Ma Xiangbo said loudly: "I see your published list this time; the number of people killed is in the tens of thousands. Which dynasty or generation has seen killing like this?"

Yan Fu asked back seriously: "Mr. Xiangbo, since you are paying attention to this matter. Which person in here do you think does not deserve to die? If you find one, you can file a complaint. What we, the People's Party, are most unwilling to see is unjust, false, and wrong cases. We are afraid our feelings on this are even stronger than yours. Confucius said: Without trust, people cannot stand. We make laws and execute laws; what we fear most is unjust, false, and wrong cases."

Seeing Yan Fu's attitude so tough, Ma Xiangbo also got a little angry, "Jidao, I'm not saying you want to conduct unjust imprisonment. I trust the character of Wenqing and you. I am saying that the laws you formulated and executed are too harsh!"

Even though Ma Xiangbo clearly stated "trust the character of Chen Ke and Yan Fu," this kindness did not make Yan Fu feel happy. On the contrary, Yan Fu already understood that he and Ma Xiangbo had nothing more to say. What was expressed under this kindness was Ma Xiangbo's opposition to the basic philosophy of the People's Party. Weighing his words, Yan Fu said slowly: "Mr. Xiangbo, we, the People's Party, also believe in character, but our standard for judging a person is seeking truth from facts, looking at what this person has done. You trust the character of me and Wenqing; this is your affirmation of us, and I am very moved. But if Wenqing and I violate the law, we must also submit to the law."

Now Ma Xiangbo's face completely changed, "Does this mean you insist on killing Jiemin?"

Yan Fu's face also became extremely helpless, "Mr. Xiangbo, we don't mean that we must kill anyone. If Mr. Xiangbo trusts the character of me and Wenqing, please believe this point. We have absolutely no malice towards Jiemin, nor do we have malice towards anyone. It is he himself who owes a blood debt to the people, and the people want him to repay it. Killing pays with life. Mr. Xiangbo, you surely won't oppose the principle that killing pays with life, right?"

Ma Xiangbo was a great scholar after all. Even if he thought Cai Yuanpei shouldn't die, he couldn't say the logic that killing doesn't need to be paid with life.

Yan Fu continued seriously: "Mr. Xiangbo, since we met, I have really cherished the friendship between us. So I will speak frankly. If I am measuring the heart of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, please bear with me. Now surely some people think we want to kill Jiemin because Jiemin scolded us. I have to tell you, this is not a fact. Not to mention far places, you should know very well how many people right here in Shanghai have scolded us. Did we arrest and kill them? Did we arrest them? No! You also cited the example of Wang Shizhen. He did more than scold us; he brought troops to fight us. He even killed our soldiers. But did we kill him? No! Fighting is for each other's masters. Once on the battlefield, we know we might be killed by the enemy. Did we take revenge for this? No! Our People's Party has no private feud of our own. What does scolding us count for? As long as the law is not violated, everyone has their own freedom of speech. Legitimate freedom of speech is protected by law. Our People's Party protects everyone's legitimate rights through law. But the rights we protect do not include killing. I believe you can definitely understand this."

Ma Xiangbo felt Yan Fu's sincerity and helplessness. He knew Yan Fu very well. Yan Fu was never a person keen on defending himself; Yan Fu's personality even extremely lacked attitude towards his own behavior. To make Yan Fu say such words was already an extremely rare thing. However, Yan Fu's words deeply stimulated Ma Xiangbo. In these words, Yan Fu wanted to express only one core, that is, "State law is merciless"!

If in the Manchu Qing era, someone put forward such a view and tried to truly execute it, Ma Xiangbo would feel that the world had been restored to clarity. But hearing Yan Fu, whom Ma Xiangbo appreciated and trusted very much, say this, Ma Xiangbo felt a kind of chill. That was like the chill that could almost freeze people to death felt when watching the bright moon on a clear winter night. Finally suppressing the unease in his heart, Ma Xiangbo asked: "Jidao, I know you were unwilling to see me for this matter. So today I am so rude to want to see you, actually just to talk to you about this matter one last time. I want to ask you, is there any way to spare Jiemin's life?"

Yan Fu shook his head slightly, his face full of regret, "The law allows no blasphemy."