The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Same.

Opposing absolute egalitarianism was proposed by Zhang Yinghao long ago.

Later, the soldiers gradually woke up from education, began to fight for their own interests, and began to actively demand fairness. Some soldiers thought that since fairness was the key, they had to be completely consistent.

Officers and soldiers should have equal food, accommodation and treatment.

They are not willing to do more. In the words of Zhang Yinghao's lazy mother in his previous life, it is: use your strength according to your own strength.

Put in more effort to do things, for fear of losing out.

When the situation became serious, they opposed the division of wounded soldiers into smaller and more severe categories, demanding equal distribution. Officers riding horses were not considered a job requirement, but rather an unequal system. They demanded extreme equality in the distribution of goods, unwilling to give extra to those with special circumstances. Labor was to be distributed equally, regardless of strength or weakness, regardless of age or age. Even when two wounded soldiers were carried on a stretcher, they would rather not have both men carry the load than have to carry one person.

At that time, Zhang Yinghao had specifically dealt with the idea of ​​absolute egalitarianism, and the distribution of materials should also be based on the principle of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his work" and "to each according to his needs".

The material distribution of military personnel should be generally equal, for example, officers and soldiers should have equal salaries, but there must be

We must oppose absolute egalitarianism, regardless of any reason, as it hinders the struggle. At that time, after vigorous military education, this trend was finally quelled.

Chapter 242:

Now, even in the Engineering Corps, calls for absolute equality are resurfacing, a testament to the times. The issue has been raised, and it's clear that the conflict is concentrated between the cadres and the soldiers, with subtle signs of antagonism emerging. Despite the usual rhetoric about equality between officers and soldiers, the soldiers' lack of understanding of the cadres' work and the cadres' failure to communicate with them promptly are undeniable.

Of course, when a comrade says something strange, it either indicates a problem with the system, a lack of room for others to express their opinions, a lack of listening to their own opinions, or a dissatisfaction with the entire unit. Alternatively, it could be that the unit's education is insufficient, preventing the comrade from integrating into the ranks and not considering themselves part of the unit, like a "Dr. Skinny Sheep" type of person.

The grassroots cadres certainly couldn't wholeheartedly agree with this accusation. Furthermore, with the regiment commander and political commissar present, they couldn't afford to lose face or face, as this would be the end of them. So they immediately began to explain.

"We are holding a meeting inside the regiment headquarters, and everyone must attend."

"Yes, we need to receive tasks, obtain tools, and arrange everyone's work, which will take quite a while."

"Especially since Comrade Geng Biao's incident, we've had many more meetings and studied more documents. We can only pass them on to you after we've finished studying them."

Gao Dasheng wanted to laugh when he saw this situation. What a familiar scene! He had experienced this once before in the revolutionary army. Gao Dasheng just listened and watched quietly throughout the whole process.

After the cadres' explanation, the comrades below immediately fell silent. They all fell silent, forming a silent majority. The discussion meeting immediately became dead. When the political commissar Gu Beiguo saw that the cadres and soldiers had nothing to say, he stood up and said, "Comrades, we say that if you are right, you will prevail, but if you are wrong, you will not be able to move forward. First of all, let's make it clear that we cannot argue with reason, but must reason with reason. Do you agree?"

After hearing Gu Beiguo's words, everyone expressed their agreement.

"Since you agree, one of the three major styles of our Forward Party is criticism and self-criticism. So, let me first criticize the fighters..."

Hearing the loud voice of Political Commissar Gu who was about to criticize people directly with a clear attitude, the soldiers felt a kind of pressure from the political commissar. No one dared to say a word. Everyone just listened quietly as the political commissar began to criticize everyone.

However, the officers' faces, upon hearing this, turned rather gloomy. During their recent meetings and study sessions, they had already learned one thing: if the soldiers were at fault, the first thing to do was to examine whether the officers were at fault. What was the difference between criticizing the soldiers and criticizing the commanders? If the soldiers weren't properly trained, the leadership couldn't escape responsibility, no matter what.

"Comrades, what are you afraid of? Why are you acting like a shy young bride getting married? Are you not brave enough to speak your mind? Ah~"

Gu Beiguo criticized these words, and seeing that the soldiers kept their heads down and didn't speak, he turned to look at the cadres and said: "I also want to criticize our cadres. You can speak out what you have done with confidence. Look at the questions raised by the comrades now. They are just pointing at your noses and asking you if you are lazy. It has come to this point.

It's come to this point, what's left to hide? Just tell it all, and be honest! Look at you now, look at each other, look at the comrades next to you, you definitely don't look like a wronged young wife. Haha, I get it, many of my comrades haven't married yet, so I don't know what a young wife looks like."

The change of scene was too sudden. When many soldiers and cadres heard these words suddenly in such a serious occasion, they couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Gu Beiguo waited until the comrades laughed for a while before he said, "Comrades, stop laughing! When I was training, the teacher talked about Chairman Zhang Yinghao. He said that when Chairman Zhang Yinghao and the comrades were digging a ditch together, the ditch couldn't be dug at first.

Good. Chairman Zhang admitted that everyone makes mistakes when he talked about these things. _Bei U is inevitable. Chairman Zhang dared to admit what he did wrong. What do you think?

I dare not admit it. If you do something wrong and you don't admit it, does that mean you didn't do it? It's not shameful to do something wrong, but it's shameful to dare to do it but not to take responsibility for it. That's what makes you look down on. Okay, it's getting late, so let our team leader Gao come up and talk to everyone."

The soldiers were unfamiliar with the newly appointed regimental commander, Gao Dasheng. He only stood up and walked onto the stage when he heard R Beise himself take the stage. As a soldier who had fought in two battles and led troops, he naturally carried an air of authority after emergency training and came to the rank of engineer. However, the content of Gao Dasheng's speech was about Park.

It is practical and unpretentious, full of useful information, and directly solves problems for comrades.

"Comrades, I've only been in our regiment for a short time. I don't know what happened before I arrived, and I can't say much. But I'm asking you to put the things you want to discuss on hold until after I've been here. Let's not bring up the past, but stick to the facts and seek truth from the facts. Do you agree?"

"Agree!" the soldiers answered almost in unison.

"Comrades, let me say a few words. Let's first determine a few principles. First, comrades, you must understand that when cadres and soldiers are placed in different positions, there will naturally be obstacles in your communication. Grassroots cadres recognize that

Why? Because when the cadres leave, you see the soldiers are still doing the same thing, so the cadres think they are better than the soldiers.

The comrades know it very well. But the soldiers often don’t know what the cadres do when they leave, right?

Hearing this, the soldiers and cadres all nodded. It was indeed as the regimental commander said, the soldiers and cadres were not always together. The soldiers had no idea what the cadres did after they left.

Seeing the comrades nod, Gao Dasheng continued: "Now that we understand the problem, we have a solution. When cadres leave in the future, we can explain to the comrades what they will do. Or we can make a table showing what the cadres did every day and what they did after leaving. Wouldn't it be clear at a glance?"

As long as information can be exchanged in a timely manner and communication is smooth, there will be no obstacles between you."

Seeing the cadres nodding in agreement, the soldiers also began to listen carefully to Gao Dasheng's continued speech. As long as he didn't talk nonsense and talked about solutions to problems, everyone would like to listen, because these solutions could help them learn something, learn how to deal with problems, and might be useful in the future.

Gao Dasheng continued, "Secondly, our discussion isn't about digging up old issues; it's about addressing the issues at hand. For example, last year's distribution plan isn't being discussed to redistribute things. Instead, we hope to find a distribution plan that better suits our current situation and that everyone feels is fairer."

If you feel it is unfair, just tell us your distribution plan and let everyone discuss it, instead of saying strange things and keeping your opinions to yourself. Do you not treat your comrades as your own people? Do you think that no one listens to your opinions? If you are right, everyone will naturally support you. If you are wrong, everyone will tell you where you are wrong.

We have just learned about organizational principles and discipline.

The law requires everyone to speak openly when encountering something they are dissatisfied with. We are all comrades, we allow everyone to have problems and allow everyone to discuss them openly. This is the organizational discipline of our Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. We discuss how to work because we want to do more and better and get more rewards next time. We discuss distribution,

I just hope that everyone's distribution will be fair, just and open. Comrades, do you agree with this?

Perhaps sensing the criticism, none of the comrades responded. The comrade who had just made the odd remark suddenly laughed and said, "Captain, we've never taught this before. If we were to speak so directly, we'd be afraid the cadres would be unhappy. If they're unhappy, then I naturally wouldn't be happy either."

The vast majority of the comrades here came from rural areas. Although they had a peasant-like demeanor, they were actually quite honest children. Many of them didn't understand what was meant by this, and it took them a while to grasp the meaning, causing them to burst out laughing. Some comrades waited for others to laugh, still not understanding what it meant. However, since this was a meeting and the leaders were present, they didn't dare to ask, and suddenly became a little anxious.

But they didn't have to think about it, Gao Dasheng directly addressed his implicit answer.

Hey, the Chairman said, "We revolutionaries carry guns and fight without fear of death, ready to lose our heads at any moment. So why should we fear retaliation?" If comrades feel they've spoken the truth and are retaliated against, then is our organizational discipline just for show? Comrade Geng Biao is a living example. Wasn't he punished for cursing others?

You're right, though. We didn't teach everyone well before. I don't know if the commanders have made it clear to everyone. I believe they will follow the rules and make it clear to everyone in the future. Comrades, please speak openly if you have anything to say. You can't do what you did before: complain when you get the chance, and then say nothing when you don't.

Comrades, you must understand that complaining won't solve any problems. You have to speak out and fight to resolve your problems. I don't think all our comrades and cadres are bastards, are they? If you raise an opinion and know it's wrong, would you still be unwilling to correct it? Have you discarded the three major work styles of our Party: maintaining close ties with the masses and criticism and self-criticism?

So, just say whatever you want to say. What are you afraid of? Even if you say something wrong, it's okay. The Chairman said that growth involves humiliation, and humiliation is the only way to grow. Making mistakes is the only way to grow, so don't be afraid of being laughed at. Comrades, you must also understand this: who will suffer if you don't speak up about a problem? Perhaps in the short term, it will hurt our engineering corps, and even our Forward Party. But if our Forward Party makes a serious mistake and is wiped out by the Qing Dynasty, the foreign powers, or some other enemy, who do you think will be able to stay out of it?

Ultimately, if you encounter a problem and don't raise it to get it solved, you're still at a loss. And whoever discovers a problem and proposes a solution will be remembered by the leadership, and you'll have proven your ability. You might even be promoted directly in the next cadre selection. If you want to make more contributions to the liberated areas, you should at least prove your ability, right? We say we need to have a sense of ownership. If we view the army as our home, we naturally hope it gets better and better. If you don't worry about it, and I don't worry about it, then our engineering corps will fall apart, and everyone will have to go home and continue farming. So every comrade should give more suggestions to build our team better and better. What do you think, comrades?

"it is good."

The comrades agreed with what the group leader Gao Dasheng said, and immediately answered loudly and applauded enthusiastically. With Gao Dasheng's encouragement, the discussion meeting finally continued.

The discussion meeting became a forum for raising and resolving issues. Cadres and soldiers alike finally dared to speak freely at the meeting, bringing up the problems they encountered in their daily work. Only then did they realize that many of the problems they faced had already been solved by other comrades, and these were all minor issues. However, many of these problems were simply not handled by the comrades themselves. Without the support of platoon leaders and company commanders on the front lines, the comrades often couldn't solve them smoothly, and these minor issues were actually the ones that significantly delayed the completion of the work.

Then they found that there were actually fewer personal conflicts among comrades, work was smoother than before, they worked harder, problems could be solved in a timely manner, the project progress was greatly advanced, and the labor intensity was lower than before.

When the tunnel at Baishu'ao was dug through and finishing work was complete, Zhang Yinghao announced a rest period, and the comrades were all beaming with joy. The heavy and dangerous work of tunneling had come to an end, and the comrades were naturally happy from the bottom of their hearts. And the rest period wasn't just a rest period; the unit was once again divided into two parts, and there were opportunities for recognition, rewards, and promotions. Each of these was good news for the comrades.

Longxu Hu didn't share the joy of his comrades. Instead of being happy, he felt intensely unhappy about this well-deserved rest. The Political Department mandated that all comrades discuss the merit evaluations before summarizing them. More importantly, the promotion process for grassroots cadres was completely different this time. Not only were squad and platoon-level cadres now elected by the soldiers, but even battalion and company-level cadres were now promoted from grassroots recommendation and leadership evaluation to leadership recommendation and grassroots self-recommendation, followed by grassroots evaluation.

Chapter 243: Thanks for the additional chapter!

While the selection rules merely added a self-recommendation requirement and reversed the content, they significantly limited leadership power. Imagine if a leader's recommendation repeatedly failed the grassroots assessment, then this leader must be problematic, unfamiliar with the grassroots. Relevant departments could then conduct targeted investigations into these individuals to determine if they were out of touch with the people or engaging in illegal or disciplinary violations.

Longxu Hu was completely surprised by the drastic changes the Political Department had made to the selection process. He sat in his chair, his face gloomy and silent. This change in the Political Department had almost completely eroded his previous authority and influence over the grassroots. It could even be said that the leaders themselves didn't know in advance which comrades would be elected at the grassroots level. Longxu Hu couldn't possibly rally these comrades after every selection; he didn't have the time or energy. What was he to do?

While he was lost in thought, a guard came in and announced, "Commander Long, Comrade Chen Dajie is outside asking to see you."

The guard now truly despised people like Chen Dajie, who constantly sought to slack off by visiting the division commander. The guard also disliked Division Commander Hu of Longxu, who, faced with someone like Chen Dajie, instead of dealing with him, continued to tolerate him. However, the guard knew his duty; he could report such situations to the leadership of the political security department, but he had no authority to deal with such people.

"not see!"

Longxu Hu was upset when he heard Chen Dajie's name and refused directly. The guard turned and left to greet Chen Dajie. Longxu Hu looked at him again and shouted, "Let him in."

"Yes."

This time, Chen Dajie didn't have the same expression as before. Instead, he was filled with anxiety. When he saw Long Xuhu, he said directly: "Master Long, you have to help me this time!

"Tell me? What's the matter?"

"Commander Long, in this cadre selection, the comrades I nominated are all comrades who work for you. Their selection results are not very good. They have not been selected several times. Now the comrades are very dissatisfied. If we let the lower-level selection be carried out, Commander Long, there will be no one to work for us in the future."

"Hmm? How far behind are they? What's their ranking?"

"They are not that far behind, ranking third or fourth."

Longxu Hu was furious when he heard this. A regiment has three or four fourth-level battalions, and a battalion has three or four companies. You're ranked last or second to last, and you still want to climb up? Generally, promotions are given to first and second place. If you don't have any special contributions or skills, who would be willing to work if you're ranked last?

However, Longxu Hu suppressed his anger and asked in a low voice, "How far behind are they from the previous place?"

"Not much. They were doing things for the division commander, so they wasted some time. If they hadn't been delayed, they would definitely have done more than those people..."

Longxu Hu interrupted Chen Dajie's nonsense and asked directly: "How much is the difference?"

He knew what Chen Dajie meant by that. It was just a way to pass the buck! Who doesn't know this routine? As long as the leader is brought out, the mouths of the comrades below can be shut up.

"this...…"

Chen Dajie didn't dare to directly point out the gap at this time, it was really too big.

“How much difference?”

Longxu Hu was very angry and asked in a stern tone.

"Master, the difference isn't that big, only about 15 to 20 percent."

Chen Dajie observed Longxu Hu's expression and spoke cautiously. Hearing this number, Longxu Hu's anger faded. If they were only a few, dozens, or even hundreds of workers apart, Chen Dajie could say the difference was minor. With the increasingly specialized division of labor, a difference of five or six percent isn't a matter of speed; it's definitely a matter of laziness. Longxu Hu hadn't expected Chen Dajie to actually come to him.

Chen Dajie, however, took it for granted. He said directly, "Captain Long, they've all completed their mission, but those others are obsessed with promotions. The merit evaluation criteria have been further refined, with rewards tied to workload. Those who rank first and second are constantly encouraging their comrades to work hard for rewards. Even during meetings, they avoid attending if possible, devoting their entire day to work. Our people have worked hard, but we didn't expect them to come up with so many problems. Commander, how can we allow these people to continue to advance if they're always detached from the organization and don't align themselves with leadership?"

"Everyone knows that working hard will earn you more awards, so why can't they do it?" "They're all asking you for information and attending meetings!"

How could Longxu Hu not understand what Chen Dajie was hinting at? Because gathering information for Longxu Hu would affect the work of these people, and these people were all his people, so Chen Dajie and the others felt that Longxu Hu had the responsibility to help them compete for promotion.

Seeing that Long Xuhu was still silent, Chen Dajie quickly came up and whispered, "Commander Long, they are all working for you. They are all your people. If you tell the people below, they won't dare to disobey you."

“This is making me take the blame!”

Long Xuhu looked at Chen Dajie's self-righteous demeanor with a touch of disbelief. He wanted to ask, "Who's the division commander, you or me?" but he restrained himself. He now fully understood Chen Dajie's true character. He shouldn't have been so eager to promote him. Such people are truly incompetent, always striving for credit. They're opportunistic, always at the front of the line for promotions and responsibilities, always lagging behind in the required work, and quick to shift the blame when problems arise. He suddenly remembered the story of "The Farmer and the Snake," told by Chairman Zhang Yinghao long ago, and felt like he'd raised a venomous snake. If he couldn't keep it well fed, it would turn on him.

By this time, Hu from Longxu had already decided to give up on Chen Dajie. He spoke directly in a businesslike manner, "Comrade Chen Dajie, merit evaluations are publicly reported. I can't do anything about this. The grassroots selection and promotion system has completely changed now, so my opinion alone doesn't count."

"Master Long, you are the master. If you don't have the final say here, who has the final say? Wasn't I...?"

Chen Dajie immediately nodded at Longxu Hu, then immediately shut up. At this point, the meaning was clear: wasn't he originally unqualified, but wasn't promotion just a matter of a word from the division commander?

Longxu Hu knew he was completely wrong. People like Chen Dajie were completely dependent on whoever gave them milk. If he couldn't meet his demands, his other side would immediately reveal itself. If someone like Chen Dajie became his leader, Longxu Hu couldn't imagine what would happen. He was sure to see cliques, nepotism, and even retaliation. It seemed like he really couldn't read too much of that trash. He used to think Chen Dajie was still useful, but he hadn't expected him to become like this. The man before him was the epitome of a powerful faction. They weren't the type to strive for success through hard work. Instead of striving to become better, they would seek to overthrow those who were better than them and then ascend to the top. Given the opportunity, they would shift the blame onto others, instantly becoming innocent.

Longxu Hu had already considered dealing with Chen Dajie, but now he had to keep him calm. If he were allowed to wander off, it would surely cause countless troubles. Thinking this through, Longxu Hu immediately changed his expression, trying to be as friendly as possible and saying, "I understand your situation. You can go back first! I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."

Upon hearing this, Chen Dajie's face suddenly lit up with a smile and he said, "Then on behalf of my brothers, I would like to thank Commander Long for the promotion. I've said long ago that Commander Long is the most loyal. This is a piece of cake for him. Commander, don't worry. When I return, I will make sure they work hard and keep you informed..."

Chen Dajie thanked him profusely, making countless promises before turning around with a smile on his face and preparing to leave Longxu Hu's office. As he turned around, the fake smile on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a look of gnashing teeth. He knew Longxu Hu was unreliable and had wasted so much of his time. Chen Dajie was a skilled observer and intelligent person, and he knew from Longxu Hu's attitude that he was just trying to appease a child! He cursed inwardly, "What a piece of shit!"

Long Xuhu looked at Chen Dajie's back and spat in his heart, then cursed: "What a bunch of crap!"

Longxu Hu could easily get rid of Chen Dajie, but he had no way of getting rid of the Political Department. He had to do the work assigned by the Political Department.

Looking at the empty makeshift office, Long Xuhu felt a hollowness within him. The influence he had patiently cultivated within the Engineering Corps had practically crumbled. He hadn't expected Zhang Yinghao to take this conspiracy so seriously. Judging from the reaction of the political department, this matter would definitely not stop. The current change in the selection rules was only the first step, but with just one step, Long Xuhu felt as if his foundation had been undermined. He didn't know what the political department's next move would be, but no matter what, it wouldn't benefit him. He simply didn't know when they would come to deal with him.

Longxu Hu was well aware of the situation surrounding this collusion. He knew he was definitely on the list, but he didn't know why the Political Department hadn't yet dealt with him. He was also a little afraid. If the Political Department persisted in pursuing this matter and got to the bottom of it, he would undoubtedly be held responsible.

This clandestine collusion took a huge risk for Longxu Hu. To rescue their brothers and subordinates, they contacted a large number of people, using every possible connection, but to no avail. They simply hoped to exempt these people from punishment and reinstate them, but why was it so difficult? They even insisted on a rectification campaign until everyone recognized their mistakes. There must be a limit to this kind of bullying, right? What exactly were they trying to do?

Regardless of what Longxu Hu was thinking or doing, Zhang Yinghao was secretly eavesdropping on Gao Dasheng's Sixth Regiment's Sixth Company merit appraisal meeting. He and Wang Daniu sat in the next room, just outside of which was a company-wide merit appraisal discussion. The meeting followed the same format Gao Dasheng had previously requested, with the comrades detailing the merit appraisal and engaging in heated debate.

After listening for a while, Zhang Yinghao said to Wang Daniu, "This meeting was well held. Meetings are meant to solve problems so that everyone can work better. Simply shouting about unequal distribution and unfairness is useless."

Wang Daniu had also heard that the Sixth Regiment was running well and had strong organizational structure. Listening to their meeting, he also said, "Yes, we must first complete the work before discussing distribution. Seeing a goose fly by and immediately arguing about whether to braise or steam it is completely useless. We must at least shoot the goose down first before we can even have a basis for debate."

Zhang Yinghao, upon hearing Wang Erniu's words, felt he had grasped the key point. He then said, "It all comes down to a question of science and the master, of labor and distribution."

Wang Daniu laughed and said, "Didn't the Chairman say that discussing inscriptions and distribution should be done within the same framework? We won't discuss inscriptions and distribution with the enemy. You said our own comrades are arguing and even fighting over distribution. Our own comrades are so clueless. If we were to argue with the enemy about inscriptions and distribution, it would be better to pick up guns and fight. It's really ridiculous."

Zhang Yinghao thought this sounded strangely familiar. After a moment's reflection, he suddenly realized what was happening and immediately smiled. Weren't World Wars I and II caused by unresolved distribution issues? Industrial development works like this! When raw material production areas are unwilling to provide raw materials, those who need them for industrial development will rebel. When industry overproduces and can't consume the volume, it naturally needs to find a consumer market for its products. Those who purchase these products and are then economically drained naturally rebel.

Chapter 244:

Just as Taizong said, we must obey the two overall situations, give priority to the development of coastal areas, and thus drive the development of inland areas. Can European countries have such strategic room for maneuver to ease conflicts? There was no such room before the establishment of the European Union. There are so many small countries in Europe, but almost all of them are industrial countries, and they are also blocked inside, and the conflicts cannot be resolved at all.

It's important to understand that the development of just China's coastal provinces required the combined efforts of the entire nation. In fact, when China was developing its industry, it faced many of the same conflicts that European countries faced initially, and various contradictions emerged during the industrialization process. Fortunately, China is a unified country, and there's room for negotiation and negotiation between provinces and regions. Conflicts can be resolved through consultation, avoiding war.

There are so many contradictions within a country, but before the end of World War II, Europe did not have any organization that could coordinate between European countries through administration. The contradictions among European countries were fierce, and it was not surprising that they eventually fought each other. It would be strange if they did not fight to the point of being brainwashed.

Zhang Yinghao nodded without saying anything, and was attracted by the discussion of his comrades.

After the cadres and comrades discussed some viewpoints, the meeting entered the summary part.

With officers and soldiers united as one, comrades all agreed that Gao Dasheng's proposal to establish a command center on the front lines of work, in order to address the issue of comrades being unable to see their commanders, was a sound solution. This approach would essentially ensure that officers remained on the front lines for the majority of their workday, never out of sight of their comrades. This would not only allow company and platoon leaders to address issues on the ground, but also allow battalion and regiment officers to visit the field more frequently and gain a deeper understanding of the actual conditions at the construction sites. If they did need to leave the site, they could create a form detailing their whereabouts and what they had done. This solution was widely praised by comrades.