Chapter 9: Convincing Wong Fei-hung to be a revolutionary
"I'm no longer a subject of the Qing Dynasty? Then what am I?"
Huang Feihong was a little confused by Li Boyang's words. After thinking for a while, he suddenly realized what Li Boyang meant and gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I am a traitor."
"No, I prefer to call you a revolutionary."
Li Boyang recounted the story in detail.
"Revolutionaries?"
"When heaven and earth change, the four seasons are formed. The revolutions of Tang and Wu were in accordance with heaven and the people. Our revolution is not only about changing dynasties, but more importantly, about innovation."
"innovation?"
"Learn from the barbarians' superior techniques to control them. Wei Yuan, the advisor to the Jiangsu governor, had already proposed learning from the strong. There were still capable people in the Qing Dynasty. Zuo Zongtang and Zhang Zhidong were outstanding figures of their time. Unfortunately, the highest ruler of the Qing Dynasty was blind and could not see these things."
"If we want a revolution, we must first distinguish who our friends are and who our enemies are."
After hearing this, Huang Feihong was shocked. Although he knew that Li Boyang was incredibly knowledgeable, he did not expect that he had underestimated his disciple.
Whether it's revolution, reform, or learning from the barbarians to control them, these are all ideas I've never heard of before, but upon careful consideration, they do seem quite reasonable.
Ignoring Huang Feihong, who was still reeling from the shock, Li Boyang continued.
"Who are our enemies? The gentry who rule China, and the Manchu Tartars who are born superior to others, they are all our enemies."
Who are our friends?
"The merchant class can be our good friend. Although the working class and peasantry are more suitable than the merchant class, their power is too weak. The Chinese people are not yet enlightened. We can only befriend the workers and peasants when the people are enlightened."
Huang Feihong was trying hard to accept the information conveyed by Li Boyang's words. Although he was a martial artist, he was also educated. For him, these views were completely unheard of and unseen.
Dividing the 400 million Chinese people into a few simple groups and clearly pointing out the contradictions among these groups may sound absurd, but upon closer examination, they are all golden words that hit the nail on the head regarding the problems facing China today.
"To make a revolution, you first need soldiers, and secondly, you need money."
"The saying 'political power grows out of the barrel of a gun' is exactly like this. My master has connections with the militia and martial arts schools, which is an advantage."
As for money...
Huang Feihong interrupted, "Po Chi Lam has been open for so long, I still have some savings, you can take them."
Li Boyang smiled wryly and said, "Master, I know how little money you have. Don't forget that I've been managing Baozhilin's accounts for the past year. That little money isn't even enough to buy a hundred guns."
"As for money, we can't wait. Money has to come quickly and urgently. So, Master, the first step you took to go astray was when you started making money."
What should I do?
With Huang Feihong's intelligence, he was full of confidence when it came to martial arts, but when it came to making money, he was completely clueless.
"opium."
"Thanks to your protection, Master, Foshan is practically a vacuum in terms of underground power. There are no gangs; local militias and martial arts schools control almost all of Foshan's underground channels. All it takes is..."
"no."
"impossible."
"Opium trafficking must never be allowed."
Huang Feihong's first reaction was to deny it three times.
Li Boyang realized that there was no need to explain further at this point; Huang Feihong should figure this out himself. He didn't continue and simply stayed quiet.
He knew Huang Feihong was conflicted. The incident of Lin Zexu's destruction of opium at Humen had already occurred, and the harm of opium was no secret to the gentry. Since Lin Zexu's destruction of opium at Humen, selling opium was tantamount to poisoning the Chinese people.
Therefore, selling opium was not just a decision to be made; it completely shattered Wong Fei-hung's moral compass. For someone who was upright and whose values were guided by chivalry, making this decision was even more difficult.
The night was quiet, and the silence was even more profound when the two men in the study fell silent at the same time. Li Boyang could hear the breeze pattering against the window, the door swaying gently, and Huang Feihong's heart beating rhythmically.
"You win, continue."
Huang Feihong finally broke the silence in the study.
"Enduring the pain for a while is necessary."
"Secondly, we need to cooperate with foreigners. Mr. Yang should have connections in Britain, so we need him to make the connections."
"We need muskets, we need factories, we need a lot of things, and for the time being, we can only rely on foreigners to provide these."
“My great-uncle is going to England soon, and I’m going to see him tomorrow.”
It seems that after making the decision to use opium, cooperating with foreigners became more acceptable, and Wong Fei-hung did not object.
"Next, we need to..."
The conversation continued until the early hours of the following morning.
Looking out the window at the sky, which was ablaze with the red glow of the rising sun, Li Boyang suddenly said:
"Master, the gentry control 99% of China's power, and there are also powerful foreign countries eyeing China covetously. Are you prepared to be an enemy of the whole world?"
"Am I ready?" Huang Feihong murmured these seven words repeatedly, then suddenly asked, "Boyang, what about you? Do you have the determination to change this world?"
Li Boyang firmly replied, "What good would it do to be an enemy of the whole world? How could I dare to say these things to you if I didn't have the will to be an enemy of the whole world?"
Huang Feihong nodded heavily: "For the rise of China, I would not regret even if I died nine times."