The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Chapter 219:

The British were aware of the ongoing confrontation between the Western Sichuan region and the Xizang region, with numerous clashes between the two sides. However, they were well aware of the situation in Xizang and knew there was no chance of them entering Sichuan. However, sowing discord was a British priority, and so they sent a telegram to India, instructing the Indian Governor-General to send someone to Xizang to persuade the Dalai Lamas to eliminate the Sichuan army.

However, the Dalai Lamas were not fools. Although they hated the Sichuan revolutionary army, they were not so arrogant as to think they could defeat it. They all knew that they could make some small moves, but if Sichuan really sent troops, they would be in big trouble.

In fact, whether it was Xizang, or any other ethnic group in the northwest or north, with the exception of the Yuan and Qing dynasties that occupied the Central Plains, as long as the Central Plains dynasty was strong, wars in the north and west were inevitable. And once the Central Plains dynasty got serious, these ethnic groups could only eat melons, either fleeing, being destroyed, or surrendering. That was all.

Of course, the British only wanted to deplete the military power of Tibet by encouraging the Dalai Lama. Tibet was already considered a treasure by the British, so they naturally would not sell advanced weapons to Tibet. Instead, they wanted to gain greater profits from Tibet and increase the trade volume between India and Tibet.

Besides inciting Xizang, Britain was also considering other ways to deal with Sichuan. Known as troublemakers, the British naturally had their own methods. What were they? Britain, France, and Japan were already strongly supporting the Qing Dynasty in suppressing various rebellions. This was a method of warfare developed by Britain over hundreds of years.

The British way of warfare was proposed by 20th-century British strategist Liddell Hart. His most famous work, Strategic Essays, introduced the concept of the indirect approach, which had a significant impact on Western militaries after World War II.

He said that Britain's success in wars over the past few hundred years was due to its unique way of fighting. That is, Britain always avoided sending large troops to the European continent to engage in a head-on confrontation with the main force of the enemy. It would play to its island advantage and land small troops to attack the enemy's weak points.

Using the navy to plunder the opponent's trade and overseas colonies for profit. This type of warfare does not rely on directly destroying the opponent's main force, but rather relies on subtle tactics to keep the opponent off balance, deplete their resources, and ultimately force them to surrender.

To sum it up in one sentence, the British style of warfare avoids direct attacks on the enemy's strong points, and instead focuses on indirect strikes: targeting the enemy's weak points, making it lose balance, and exhausting its strength.

Furthermore, the British, guided by the principle of shared interests, are very fond of seeking allies. Britain has always been able to avoid direct confrontation with its adversaries, but there are always times in war when a head-on confrontation is necessary. Who will take on the tough tasks? Someone has to do the dirty work, and who will do it? It can only be an ally, and this ally must have a significant overlap of interests with Britain, the kind who will fight to the bitter end for their own sake.

The wars fought by Britain basically followed this pattern, that is, finding one or more countries or forces to be its allies and fight the most difficult battles for it.

The most head-on battle. And what about Britain itself? Generally, it would just send a few small troops to the European continent to help its allies hold off the enemy. Its main focus was on the sea, destroying the enemy's navy, disrupting its trade, and seizing its colonies.

But if we look at it from a historical perspective, the British approach to warfare is actually a matter of strategic planning. It's generally accepted that the strengths and weaknesses of opposing sides are objective; you can't suddenly become stronger, nor can your opponent suddenly become weaker. However, constructing a good strategy can recalibrate the criteria for strengths and weaknesses.

Countries like Britain, France and Japan were taking action, but when Zhang Yinghao heard about western Sichuan and Britain, France and Japan helping the Qing Dynasty suppress the rebels, he just smiled faintly and ignored it. Zhang Yinghao's current principle is to either do nothing or do it with all his strength. He would not give it a try. There is no benefit in trying Xizang or testing Britain, France and Japan now. Zhang Yinghao just accelerated the construction of the Chengkang Highway.

Neither France nor the United States had a positive attitude towards Sichuan's expansion; after all, it had no direct impact on their interests, and even if they did, it wasn't significant. However, upon hearing that Sichuan had annexed Shaanxi, the Japanese were furious. Japan's total population is smaller than Sichuan's, with a population of only around 40 million, and its territory smaller than Sichuan's. But seeing Sichuan swallow up a province larger than Japan, the Japanese were besides envious, jealous, and furious, practically going berserk.

This is the advantage of land-based nations. Maritime nations, faced with the vast ocean, can only feel helpless. Even Britain in its past had lost almost all of its overseas colonies, with only a few small islands left as a reminder of the former glory of the British Empire. This is the helplessness of island nations facing continental nations.

Japan has tried so hard to completely annex Korea, but the rebels in Sichuan have quietly completed their expansion and annexation. It is simply a case of comparing people and killing people, and comparing goods and throwing them away. However, Japan has once again planned to cut some meat from the Qing Dynasty, and the place it has set its sights on is the three northeastern provinces.

Japan's Consul Katsura Yamazaki is now promoting the Sichuan threat theory everywhere, saying that Sichuan's development is no longer under the control of the great powers and will eventually threaten the great powers' interests in China, and that the great powers need to join forces to curb Sichuan.

In reality, Japan, like the British, saw the emergence of a power vying for the spoils of war. Japan also had a clear understanding of its own interests. Seeing Sichuan's development, it knew that a conflict of interest with the powers was inevitable. Especially countries like Britain and Japan, like wolf-like island nations, only caring about gaining benefits without any thought of giving. Britain was a bit better off, having plundered for centuries and had pretty much taken what was needed. Japan, however, was truly starving and scouting for meat, ready to take a bite, poisonous or not.

Since Zhang Yinghao knew the situation he was facing, he naturally didn't care about the Japanese clamor or the British's insidiousness. He just focused on his own affairs. He never pinned his hopes on the great powers to compromise with China, especially the British, who were well versed in the essence of struggle. He had repeatedly rubbed the Qing Dynasty to the ground, and now it was completely subdued.

Although Zhang Yinghao didn't know what conspiracy the great powers were hatching against Sichuan, he could already sense the impending storm. The great powers were increasing the volume and speed of trade, and were doing everything they could to gain insights into Sichuan's situation.

The foreign powers were carrying out various activities in Sichuan. Whether they could stop them depended on the strength of their grassroots organizations. However, with the foundation of land reform, many people seeking information were eventually caught. This also added another task to the work of the Intelligence Bureau, the Special Security Committee for Eliminating Counter-Revolutionaries and Work Sabotage, the Political Security Bureau, and the Police Bureau: mobilizing public reports and diligently investigating spies.

As for spy investigation, Zhang Yinghao, having watched several television dramas, knew that Western powers like Britain and France relied on bribery, essentially using money to obtain intelligence. The Japanese, while nouveau riche, were actually poor. The Japanese had a thousand-year history of studying China and were more familiar with the Chinese than those so-called China experts in the West.

Are there many enemies in Sichuan now? Yes, there are many.

The first three, needless to say, were the result of the use of the fist of the proletarian dictatorship.

The last one was even more remarkable. In the entire Sichuan province, there was no hope for these people to rise to prominence. In the early days of the unrest, these people couldn't see the situation clearly and hid themselves away, looking down on ragtag people like Zhang Yinghao and unwilling to come out to work. Zhang Yinghao didn't force them at all, preferring instead to maintain military control in the region rather than allow these people to become officials.

By the time these scholars and gentry saw the situation clearly and wanted to become officials, the positions were already filled. They wanted to enter the ruling class through the means of aides, as in the past. After Zhang Yinghao dealt with a group of people who privately consulted aides rather than meeting with their comrades, aides disappeared in Sichuan, at least on the surface.

As a result, these people's lives became even worse. Some hated the new government, some complained, and some simply watched from the sidelines. As for how many of these people had a favorable impression of the new government, Zhang Yinghao had little hope. Japan began contacting these people through various means, and they quickly rallied to the government. In Zhang Yinghao's view, if these people behaved well, they would simply wither away with the times, and the government would give them room to survive. But if they continued to stir up trouble, they would learn the true meaning of the iron fist of the proletarian dictatorship.

Zhang Yinghao now understood that the state is a tool of class rule, and the political party is a tool of the class. The police, procuratorate, courts, army, trade unions, and peasant associations are all merely tools. Only when these tools are in the hands of the proletariat will they be invincible. Especially when the Party uses the army as a tool of violence, any force without the backing of force will be crushed.

At this time, how many troops were there in Sichuan? This was a top secret. No one except the members of the Military Commission and the Political Bureau could know. When Zhang Yinghao watched TV series in his previous life, he knew that the army led by Nie Rongzhen arrived in Jinchaji and established

The revolutionary base was established only a year ago, and 3,000 people were already there. They gave people a life of cheating, and no explanation is needed. When the Anti-Japanese War was won, the 3,000 people had grown to a million. Wang Li's troops numbered 320,000, and the militia and local armed forces numbered more than 900,000. Among them, they also supported other

There are 32 regiments and 25 subsidiary regiments in other areas.

By that time, the revolutionary base had grown to encompass a large area with a population of nearly 40 million. The base was also large, with a main force of more than 270,000 people, who together controlled a population of 24 million. However, it was still far from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei revolutionary base.

This is quite a big gap.

While these things seemed impossible to the imperialist powers and reactionaries, they were simple tasks within the revolutionary base areas. If the base areas were not limited in capacity, Marshal Nie would have had more than 300,000 men at his disposal by the end of the war.

To quote a representative of migrant workers demanding their wages on television: "Your men are bought with money, while mine can be fed with a stutter." This is the truth: the Qing army and the Beiyang New Army were both built on money. Without it, the soldiers wouldn't listen. Even Yuan Shikai himself couldn't command his army without it. Even during the Kuomintang's era of the party-run army, high-ranking officials, generous salaries, and bonuses remained the only way to motivate the army to attack.

Zhang Yinghao wanted to say, "People don't fear death, so why should they be frightened by it?" When people have hope and work hard for it, what does death mean to them? The right attitude is to face death with equanimity. Just like in a steel mill, where a person plunges into the molten steel, leaving nothing but bones, the people grit their teeth and work without complaint. In his previous life, Iron Man Wang Jinxi volunteered to jump into an oil well to work as a mixer. Did he even consider death at that time? They were simply solving a problem.

When these awakened people see the reactionaries stubbornly clinging to their wrong ways, they can only say with pity: "You are wrong."

Once the people begin to awaken and fight for their own interests, no force can stop them. And those who truly understand their own interests are difficult to bribe. Of course, Zhang Yinghao knew that some of his comrades would undoubtedly be caught in the act of bribery and coercion as depicted on television. So, Zhang Yinghao's solution was simple: as long as these comrades handed over the enemy's gifts to the relevant units and reported the problems truthfully, Zhang Yinghao would not punish them, and would even allow them to continue their contact with the reactionaries, acting as double agents.

When Zhang Yinghao established the intelligence department, he emphasized the importance of overt schemes over conspiracies. This was similar to how Premier Zhou Enlai, in his previous life, established the Party's political security apparatus, establishing strict principles and disciplines and repeatedly emphasizing: No random attacks on traitors, only those who pose a serious threat; no attacks on open spies; no kidnapping. During the revolutionary war, the Party strictly prohibited terrorist attacks during its underground activities and never organized assassinations of Kuomintang or Japanese military and political leaders.

Chapter 220:

Zhang Yinghao naturally followed suit. If you were willing to give the intelligence, then give it; if you weren't, forget it. Underground work principles specifically emphasized that bribery, seduction, or intimidation were prohibited to obtain intelligence, develop relationships, or extract information. Zhang Yinghao's principle was that even without Zhang the Butcher, he wouldn't eat hairy pigs.

Why did Chiang Kai-shek sigh helplessly, "Who in the world doesn't agree with the Communist Party?" While proving the power of the united front, it also proves that as long as we firmly walk on the right path, we will inevitably be followed by a group of people with lofty ideals.

According to the principles of Marxism-Leninism, the goal of revolutionary struggle is to overthrow the entire reactionary rule rather than to eliminate individuals. Assassinating leading enemy figures will not only fail to achieve the goal of the struggle, but will instead cause social resentment and affect the direction of the struggle.

Zhang Yinghao treated landlords, evil gentry, and reactionaries as "each one died in battle for his own good." However, he never carried out any private executions, nor did he engage in lynching. He always executed them. He also never carried out assassinations or assassinations. These practices were all for the sake of public resentment.

Don't hold personal grudges.

The Kuomintang and its predecessor, the Tongmenghui, have always advocated the idea of ​​knights and assassins, and have used assassination as one of their important means.

The political system used surveillance and persecution of dissidents, often assassinating open opponents. This spy politics and the terrorism adopted by the state regime were one of the important reasons why it was condemned by the whole country. Moreover, the Tongmenghui and the Kuomintang also suffered backlash due to the assassinations.

Even Chiang Kai-shek himself didn't know how many of his own people had died.

Money and beauty are double-edged swords; using them against the enemy will inevitably lead to self-corruption. Zhang Yinghao couldn't believe the intelligence gained from the beauty's body. It was questionable what kind of important intelligence a man with no control over his lower body could possibly possess.

Many rebirth and time-travel novels, when unifying the nation, almost always resort to tactics like Chiang Kai-shek's lavish bribery, beautiful women, and promises of official positions to expedite progress. But these people don't consider: if you're so generous to the enemy, willing to pay so much to bribe them, what will your subordinates think? They're willing to fight for you, yet they're not worth as much as a surrendered man. How much does a divisional commander surrender for? How much does a regimental commander surrender for? How will your subordinates cope with this? They're treated worse than the enemy. This is a classic recipe for self-destruction.

Therefore, Zhang Yinghao emphasized that no matter what work or where one worked, politics was the foundation, and the absolute leadership of the Party was the soul of the work. A former Soviet intelligence expert, when sharing his experience in China, claimed that valuable intelligence could only be obtained through the use of money and sex. Li Kenong angrily retorted, "We haven't done that in the past, and we won't do it in the future! We rely primarily on making friends and engaging in political and ideological work. We sometimes use money, but it's only a supplementary means."

In my past life, I've seen many dramatic TV dramas that, to attract audience attention or create buzz, portrayed "underground workers" with no political awareness or organizational oversight, portraying them as "unbridled, solitary, and heroic figures." The reality is that such things never happen; they're all just the director's fantasy.

Just like how popular "Bright Sword" was when it aired, wasn't the character Li Yunlong also praised by many? There's also talk of many foreigners studying "Bright Sword." But the content is just the director's fantasy. In reality, just the unauthorized appointment of guards alone would have been enough to punish someone like Li Yunlong under Party discipline. Someone like Li Yunlong, who secretly mobilized troops to attack the county town, secretly organizing a battle for his wife, would have been punished in a matter of minutes. Party discipline is no joke, and such a thing would never have occurred in the Eighth Route Army.

Historically, without the absolute leadership of the Party organization, underground intelligence work inevitably went astray. The defection of Gu Shunzhang, the former head of the Central Special Branch, was primarily due to his use of the special nature of his work to disregard organizational oversight. He frequently appropriated more than half of the Party Central Committee's operating funds for his own use, ultimately leading to political depravity through his pursuit of pleasure.

Therefore, although Zhang Yinghao's underground work with the party outside the base area was mostly single-line contact, the organization also had to regularly inspect the political and life of subordinate party members, and educate or cut off relations with those with dangerous tendencies in a timely manner. The anti-corruption struggle was also reflected in the covert struggle at the time.

The Party's underground organizations developed relationships based on political awareness, generally speaking, by cultivating comrades. Brotherhood, romantic attraction, and other tactics were strictly prohibited. The struggle in the White Areas was brutal. Without the cohesion of political ideals and convictions, personal relationships and fleeting passions would quickly deteriorate. Countless couples, sworn to love, broke up amidst hardships and life-or-death trials. Falling in love with someone known to be from the opposing camp was even more absurd.

Husband and wife are birds of the same forest. It is normal for them to fly away separately when disaster strikes. Living and dying together and refusing to surrender until death is a one-in-a-million chance. Zhang Yinghao never wants to take a chance and see if he can encounter such a one-in-a-million chance.

Why was Soviet intelligence so powerful in the past? One important reason is that the Soviet Union successfully leveraged ideology to coax countless people into volunteering for their services. There are legends about the KGB's "swallows" being incredibly powerful, but when the Soviet Union abandoned ideology, didn't everything vanish like smoke in a flash?

Coincidentally, the CCP's brilliant achievements on the covert front in its past were largely due to its belief in justice, which won over and moved people, and its organizational strength, which served as a cover for the broad masses. The CCP's underground operatives were often able to infiltrate the enemy camp precisely because the Kuomintang was deeply corrupt, internally disunited, and disunited.

The daughter of Chiang Kai-shek's "literary advisor," Chen Bulei, and the children of many other high-ranking officials secretly joined the Communist Party because they saw too much darkness in their upper echelons and believed that Yan'an represented a bright future. At the time, the Kuomintang's Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and the Military Bureau of Investigation and Statistics generally had difficulty infiltrating the Communist Party, except for a few traitors. This was due to the revolutionary ranks' strict organization and the arduous working conditions that were unbearable for spies. Wisdom comes from the masses, and strength comes from faith; these are the source of the Party's underground work's success.

Therefore, Zhang Yinghao also forbade the staff of the Progressive Party to use money and beauty to obtain valuable intelligence. This is an insult to the political correctness of the Progressive Party, and Zhang Yinghao does not need such intelligence.

To do the right thing and do it right is to achieve your goal.

Regardless of the turmoil outside, Zhang Yinghao paid no attention; he was incredibly busy. He was preparing to convene three meetings: the National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Central Committee it elected as the highest leadership body of the Forward Party. Since there had never been a congress before, this one was convened by the Central Committee in accordance with the Party Constitution. Zhang Yinghao and his Central Committee comrades worked together to determine the number of seats and the election method.

After the Party Congress, the National People's Congress, also known as the NPC, will take place. This is the meeting that Zhang Yinghao has always wanted to convene but has not yet convened. This meeting is the core foundation of the Progressive Party's regime. Without this meeting, the power obtained by Zhang Yinghao and the Progressive Party cannot be considered a legitimate regime.

This meeting is the most important thing for Zhang Yinghao to do this time.

In the previous election, it was just an internal party election and that was it. But now he controls over 50 million people in two provinces. Without this meeting, no matter how many times Zhang Jianmeng talks about representing the people, it will be useless.

There was originally a Political Consultative Conference, but Zhang Yinghao was not planning to set it up yet, so he changed the conference to the National Workers' Representative Conference.

Zhang Yinghao believes that the National Workers' Conference is essentially a commendation and agitation meeting. Its main purpose is to discuss the rights and obligations of working people and encourage more people to join the ranks of workers.

Time had quietly arrived on November 10, 1902. Party representatives from all over the country rushed to Chengdu to convene the Second National Forward Party Congress.

The first meeting was the Party Congress, at which the participants listened to and reviewed the report of the Central Committee; listened to and reviewed the report of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection; discussed and decided on major issues of the Party; amended the Party Constitution; re-elected the Central Committee; and re-elected the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

If the base area is considered a village, then the Party is the village's decision-maker, and the people are its members. The Party Congress is a meeting of household heads, and the People's Congress is a meeting of all villagers. The household heads meeting decides the village's future direction and arranges future work, and the head of each household is responsible for assessment and review.

Two years have passed since the founding of the Progressive Party. This congress is arguably the most grand and largest ever. Before the congress began, participants received confidentiality training and other disciplinary training. This is necessary, as people today generally lack a sense of confidentiality. Since the party doesn't engage in secret politics, this training is crucial.

Zhang Yinghao doesn't intend to have the person who catches you say to you after a leak occurs: "You didn't ask me to keep it a secret." Then Zhang Yangjia also guards Lin Ba. After the relevant training is completed, the conference will officially begin.

Zhang Yinghao personally made a report at the party congress, reaffirming that the nature of the party is a proletarian party; the party's goal is to overthrow the proletarian revolutionary army

The Qing Dynasty regime eliminated capitalist private ownership, rebuilt the base areas by the working class, and recognized the dictatorship of the proletariat until the end of class struggle, that is, until the social class distinctions were eliminated; the basic tasks of the Party were to engage in various activities of the workers' movement and strengthen the study and leadership of trade unions and the workers' movement; the Party's organizational code stipulated that a unified organization and strict discipline be established throughout the Party, and that the four principles be reaffirmed.

Individual obedience and master centralization, etc.

The Second National Congress passed the "Resolution on Current Practical Work", which determined that the party's next central task was to organize trade unions and educate workers, and lead the workers' movement. It also put forward regulations or requirements for the party's tasks, guidelines, policies and methods of leading the workers' movement.

The Second Congress elected Zhang Yinghao, the leader of the party, as the chairman of the Progressive Party, and the leading body was the Central Committee. Although Zhang Feng did not attend the congress, due to his seniority,

His great contributions, influence and prestige, as well as his status as one of the main founders of the party

The congress elected him as a member of the Central Committee for his contributions. Many comrades had never heard of their names, and they were even less familiar with each other. Many comrades raised their hands when they saw others raise their hands, and applauded when they saw others applaud. In this way, the election was completed in a daze. The other members of the Central Committee were 61.

There are 85 members and 85 alternate members, among whom 11 members of the Central Political Bureau are elected.

The Second National Congress of the Party confirmed the establishment of a unified proletarian party guided by Marxism and Zhang Yinghao's thought. Zhang Yinghao also completed a remarkable transformation from party leader to mentor, further elevating his status.

After the election, Zhang Yinghao made a speech: "...Hold high the great banner of communism for the liberation of the people, realize the sinicization of Marxism, seize power in China by force, and work tirelessly to realize the liberation of the Chinese nation..."

...China has now become a semi-colonial, semi-feudal society, with increasingly stark social contradictions. Imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism are the three mountains weighing heavily on the people. The China Progressive Party has the responsibility and obligation to lead the people of the country in overthrowing these three mountains and establishing a new China that is righteous, prosperous, and strong..."

Zhang Yinghao then went over all the fundamental issues of communism, including its overall goals, tasks, overall layout, strategic layout, development direction, development methods, development drivers, strategic steps, external conditions, and political guarantees. It took another two weeks before the relevant resolutions and elections were complete. With so much material being poured into the discussion, everyone was left bewildered.

The next day, Zhang Yinghao spoke for most of the morning. After finishing his speech, Zhang Yinghao finally expressed at the party meeting the Party Central Committee's high attention and firm determination to build a clean and honest party style and fight corruption.

The afternoon session was followed by a report by Comrade Ma Haifeng, Chairman of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. He addressed issues such as some Party members failing to respect Party discipline, exhibiting impure Party spirit, engaging in corruption, and betraying secrets, and also reported on emerging problems.

If Zhang Yinghao's report was far-sighted, then Comrade Ma Haifeng's speech was a wake-up call. However, many comrades were still confused and asked stupid questions such as how these bad guys joined the Party and why they did such things.

Chapter 221: Thanks for the update!

At the same time, people's representatives and labor representatives from all over the country also rushed to Chengdu to attend the meeting. Why the National Congress? Because Sichuan now has a gathering of people from all over the country, some coming here to make a living, some to revolutionize, some to do business, and so on. Whether it is party members, people's representatives, or labor representatives, it now includes the vast majority of provinces in the country, so using the National Congress is not a problem.

After the Party Congress, the next step is the National People's Congress. In fact, many Party members are very confused about the convening of the National People's Congress. They don't know what the National People's Congress is for. When they hear that the National People's Congress is the highest organ of power, with the highest legislative and decision-making powers, the highest powers of appointment and removal, and the highest powers of supervision, many Party members and cadres are not happy.

Comrades who understood the situation would think: "Why?" There is a Party meeting, and Sichuan and Shaanxi were conquered by the Forward Party and the revolutionary army.

What have the people done? The current situation is good enough, why do you need to find a mother-in-law for yourself now? Zhang Yinghao was also prepared for the questions of his comrades. In fact, Zhang Yinghao himself did not trust the National People's Congress of this era. Most of them did not know that the earth was round.

Stuff is just a joke.

Zhang Yinghao patiently explained the issue of power to his comrades. Then he said, "If there hadn't been a National Congress, the power the Progressive Party had gained would have been illegal, like a rootless duckweed. But with the People's Congress, we are a democratically elected government, a government recognized by the people. Only then can we claim legitimacy, not something we created behind closed doors..."

Everyone will understand the logic after a brief explanation, but in reality many comrades do not trust the people's representatives and are afraid that they will act recklessly, or many comrades simply do not want to have a mother-in-law or a sword hanging over their heads.

For Zhang Yinghao, even if he disliked it, the National People's Congress was a must. Without it, the legitimacy issue aside, without the National People's Congress and the Progressive Party, the masses and the political party would inevitably become separated, and the party would become detached from the masses. It would become like the Kuomintang, quickly embarking on a counter-revolutionary path, and the demise of the party and the country would be imminent.

Only when the political party is firmly rooted among the people, constantly absorbs the outstanding elements among them, stands with the people, and is able to constantly learn and progress while transforming the people, and keep pace with the times, can the Progressive Party be considered a qualified modern political party.

After countless Party meetings at all levels and countless explanations, the election of representatives to the National People's Congress finally began. Even then, many regions failed to conduct proper elections, as many comrades simply didn't know how to select representatives and instead "dispatched" local representatives. Many even attended the National People's Congress directly after the Party Congress.

Zhang Yinghao didn't comment on this. As long as these "people's representatives" completed the process and fulfilled their "responsibilities and obligations," the ultimate goal would be achieved. Furthermore, Zhang Yinghao viewed the current People's Congress as more of a rubber stamp: they'd do whatever they were told, as long as they followed the procedures. Only in the information age, or when the overall literacy level of these people reached a certain level, would the People's Congress truly play its due role. But what about the current situation? Many people are illiterate or semi-literate, so Zhang Yinghao summoned them simply to stamp their approval. "I say what we do, and you just agree," he meant.

People are still confused nowadays, and asking them to talk about the inscription is a joke. Zhang Yinghao remembers an incident in his previous life when he was a child. His family bought a few bags of urea and planned to fertilize the fields. Zhang Yinghao was still in elementary school at the time, so he curiously asked his father, "Dad, what is this?"

"This is urea, don't mess with it."

Zhang Yinghao smelled a pungent odor and asked, "What's the use of urea?"

"It can be used as fertilizer, and if you get sick, you can take it as medicine."

Because Zhang Yinghao was sickly and frail as a child in his previous life, he was afraid of taking medicine, so he remembers the phrase "take it as medicine" very clearly. At that time, people saw the dramatic increase in yields from chemical fertilizers, and saw withered crops instantly turn green after being applied with urea fertilizer. They thought the fertilizer was magical. Rumors spread that it contained spiritual energy, immortality, and some kind of miracle cure. Through misinformation, it became a cure-all, claiming it could cure all ailments, and even killed many. What era was that? It was already the year 2000. Back then, his father was still a fool, and the people of this era are even more so. If Zhang Yinghao said the moon was triangular, some fools would believe him. Can you talk to a fool about the "Master of Inscriptions"? The prerequisite for talking about the "Master of Inscriptions" is that science has been widely popularized and everyone understands the underlying principles.

Therefore, there's nothing wrong with letting villagers elect their own village chiefs and village secretaries, as they only need to safeguard the villagers' short-term interests. However, as for the current residents, they don't yet have the ability to formulate higher-level policies. We advocate for a balance between short-term and long-term interests. However, in reality, the vast majority of people only care about short-term gains and ignore long-term interests, lacking long-term planning.

Just like Lenovo's previous disputes over whether to prioritize technology, industry, and trade, or trade, industry, and technology, this involves a struggle between short-term and long-term interests. Survival is paramount, so developing trade is undoubtedly the right path. Talking about developing technology when survival is at stake is a waste of time. Is it just a waste of love?

So, in reality, there's no such thing as a conflict between technology, industry, and trade, or between trade, industry, and technology. Profits from trade complete the initial accumulation of capital. Naturally, a certain percentage of that capital must be allocated to research, and mastering core technologies is the foundation of survival. Can core technologies be acquired simply by buying them? That's a joke.

Overconfidence in the power of capital, focused solely on making quick bucks and reaping the benefits of policies, lacks long-term planning, and focuses solely on short-term gains, overlooking long-term benefits. Showing off one's cleverness is short-sighted. Some companies, however, are unwilling to work hard and always seek shortcuts. This type of company is like a tree. Instead of diligently rooting deeply into the ground, its roots only absorb nutrients from the thin, dark, fertile surface. High profits are truly satisfying. For aesthetic reasons, this tree grows its crown tall and expansive. On the surface, it appears towering, seemingly able to shelter from the elements. However, without the support of policies, it would have collapsed long ago. Even with the support, this tree cannot withstand the ravages of wind and rain and will inevitably fall.

One of Taizu's goals in launching the CCP was to dismantle what he considered a nascent bureaucracy that oppressed the people and return power to the people. However, Taizu overestimated the people's so-called awareness, believing they could share his own understanding and consciousness. In reality, an unorganized people is nothing but a loose sand, and who organizes them? Again, the bureaucrats. Therefore, the people were no match for the organized bureaucratic machine. The bureaucrats began to act recklessly, casting blame on Taizu.

At the time, Taizu was somewhat detached from material reality. If Taizu had seen the internet, understood the magical power it possessed, and utilized it, which bureaucrat would have dared to mess around? Only then would launching the CCP have had a chance of success. When meeting Chairman Hua, Taizu said, "I've only done two things in my life. The first was fighting Chiang Kai-shek for decades, ultimately driving him to several islands. The second was launching the Wenhua Revolution, which had few supporters and many opponents." Taizu was fully aware of what he was launching, even the consequences, yet he went ahead without hesitation.

So the truth is, even if Taizu had known about the internet, he would still have launched the WG under the circumstances at the time. He believed that launching the WG to overthrow certain people and certain causes was what he should do, and it was necessary. The benefits of launching the WG were numerous and obvious. After ten years of WG, the countless ideals Taizu promoted had become deeply ingrained in people's minds, and no one dared to change them in the slightest. Therefore, later generations who criticize the WG only focus on economic issues, rarely touching on political ones.

On December 1, 1902, the National People's Congress, one of the three major meetings, officially took place. Worker and peasant representatives from across the country arrived at the meeting place. Almost all of them were comrades from the revolutionary army, or at least had very close ties to it. Local governments would never, under any circumstances, select people with no connection to the revolutionary army to attend such an important meeting.

Indeed, the National People's Congress was practically a sea of ​​green. Compared to the previous Qing army uniforms, the new military uniforms eliminated exaggerated features and adopted a single design. This, in line with the concept of equality between officers and soldiers, narrowed the differences between cadres and soldiers. The uniforms wore the same red five-pointed star and red cap badge, and all wore cloth uniforms, de-emphasizing the concept of hierarchy.

Of course, there are some modern elements here, such as the octagonal hat that has been retained. There are many types of military shoes. During combat, the Liberation Shoe, which is more suitable for harsh environments, is used. For daily wear, there are several types of rubber-soled shoes. Special military branches also have special military boots.