The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

"At thirty, one is established; at forty, one is free from doubts; at fifty, one understands the will of Heaven" is a quote often quoted by comrades. However, because people focus solely on the results, they often omit the most crucial phrase. The true reason Confucius became a great man was the "aspiration to learn" in the phrase "At fifteen, I have the aspiration to learn." At fifteen, Confucius had the aspiration to learn, a goal, and then he realized his shortcomings through learning.

Confucius was a self-motivated learner, not one forced to learn like many children. Just as we say that those who enjoy learning are as rare as those who enjoy working, Confucius actively pursued progress, seeking teachers everywhere. This is why he later coined the phrase, "When three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher."

Comrades, no matter who you are, as long as you have a firm goal—unless you're truly a person with a low IQ, there's no way you can achieve it. Otherwise, if someone actively learns from the age of fifteen to thirty, actively pursues progress, and diligently studies for fifteen years, there's no reason they won't succeed. Just like the American scientist Edison experimented with the filament, testing over ten thousand materials before finally achieving success.

Have a "determination" to learn, know why you learn, because the answer is there. A person thinks, studies, and searches for an answer for one year, two years, five years, ten years, forgetting food and sleep, thinking day and night, accumulating knowledge and finally getting the answer he wants...

What Zhang Yinghao said was true, but in reality, the opposite is true. Zhang Yinghao has met countless people who lack the ambition to learn, unable to focus their efforts on specific goals. Although they have read many books and learned a great deal, it is of little use to them. This is because the knowledge they learn is not used, but becomes a storage device: they have a lot of knowledge, but they don't know how to use it.

In reality, most people, far from living a life of learning, instead embrace an unyielding, unyielding attitude, a self-righteous, undeniable ego. When discussing matters, they offer no modesty. Regardless of right or wrong, they prioritize the ideas they agree with as truth, and those they disagree with as wrong. Such people are far from possessing a "desire to learn," let alone a "learning spirit." This is clearly like swishing through a half-filled bucket, yet believing it's full, boasting immense talent and profound knowledge, yet unable to add even a single drop. This stubbornness ultimately leads to mediocrity and inaction.

But people are like this, inevitably limited by their own inherent things. People always like idealistic things, such as eternity, sincerity, and all like imagined eternal and beautiful things.

In fact, looking at the problem realistically, constant progress is a very painful thing. It's human nature to be lazy and unwilling to work, and not to strive for progress. Because both work and progress require the consumption of stored energy, and to obtain energy requires work, it's a vicious cycle.

When productivity was extremely low, humans, like most animals foraging for food, acquired resources on a temporary basis, taking only what they needed. When hungry, they naturally sought food diligently. However, diligent effort when not hungry wouldn't earn them more resources, as even if they did, they wouldn't be able to keep them. Minimizing activity reduced physical exertion, allowing the energy saved to be stored in the body, ultimately giving them an edge in the competition for survival.

Private property has existed since primitive society! Why hasn't it evolved much since then? Because after society formed, private property emerged, wealth could be accumulated, and hard work could provide more resources for survival. Why was the collectivization movement bound to fail? Because without private property, everyone ate from the same pot. Who would be willing to work hard? Everyone would find ways to be lazy, and there was no motivation to work at all.

Zhang Yinghao recalled his grandmother's story about how, during the collectivization movement, when planting soybeans and peanuts, to save time and earn extra centimeters, they'd simply dump the seeds and fertilizer into the ground, not caring if there were any seeds in the pit. Some people also said they were used to hard work and couldn't sit still because they felt uncomfortable without some work. In reality, most people said this out of pride; they naturally couldn't argue that if they didn't work, they wouldn't eat. Zhang Yinghao had heard many people say this in his previous life, but as the economy developed, these people, once they had enough food and clothing, still had some free time. There was no reason to be restless, because laziness is part of human nature.

Why are housing prices so high in later generations? Many people work normally, but still need to spend their parents' life savings plus decades of their own advance spending to afford a house. Is this a good thing? Then think about it the other way around. If someone can easily buy a car or a house after working for a few years, and their family has a huge amount of savings, will they still be motivated to work?

Some people might still want to, but the vast majority will absolutely not be willing to work anymore. We say that labor is the only way to create wealth. Just like those people making short videos, they aren't actually creating wealth; instead, they're consuming the wealth of the people. If those who earn money stop working, and productivity doesn't reach the level of distribution according to need, society will inevitably suffer from inflation and ultimately collapse. But if high housing prices can force a family to toil for decades just to afford a house, won't the government take responsibility for that? Perhaps a lifetime of labor should be the inherent consciousness of the proletariat.

Europe's high welfare social system is bound to collapse in the end. What supports these countries now is the export of industrial products to underdeveloped areas. Once the profits of industrial products decline, once these countries cut welfare in the future, perhaps these countries will be the beginning of unrest again.

For the government, money is printed, so housing prices don't matter. The government only needs its people to work. High-priced housing encourages people to work, which drives up housing prices. The world is cruel, maintaining wages based on what motivates people to work.

There is now a phenomenon in society of praising the Cultural Revolution, saying that at that time the working class was in charge of the society, the people had a high status and were equal, but in today's society workers have no status, it is unfair, it is no longer a dictatorship of the proletariat, it has become capitalism.

This is a typical example of eating meat with a bowl in hand and cursing after putting down chopsticks. But if you ask them to explain it one, two, three, they can’t say it. They also don’t understand.

Why is this? They also feel the pain brought to them by the times, but like the old literati in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, they have no solution.

But when asked to say whether they want reform and opening up, and whether they want to develop a market economy, they can only hesitate and dare not give a direct answer.

In fact, as long as you understand why so many people fled to Hong Kong at that time and what these people said, you will know a lot of facts.

Some people support both reform and opening up and the Cultural Revolution and the factory system that preceded it. This is inherently contradictory and irreconcilable. You can only choose one or the other; there is no middle ground.

Workers are the masters of the factory, there is no problem with that. The problem is that workers are not progressing fast enough and can no longer keep up with the needs of productivity development. They have become an obstacle to productivity. What should we do? For example, the factory needs to buy new machines.

If we increase productivity, we won’t need so many workers. What should we do? The workers are blocking the factory from upgrading and buying new machines because people will lose their jobs after the upgrade. The workers will also say: “This machine is still usable. Why is it so expensive?”

What should be replaced?"

Therefore, when workers work not for the development of productivity or production but for personal gain, they are no longer representatives of advanced productivity but spokespersons for interests, and the interests of workers are also solidified.

If we can't fire workers, do we have to keep them employed forever? These workers don't know how to use the new machines, and due to cultural reasons, it's difficult to meet the training requirements. We have to recruit new workers, but what about the old workers in the factory? New machines will replace the old ones, and there will inevitably be no need for so many workers. How can this be solved? Therefore, if a factory wants to continuously improve its productivity, then workers will inevitably become an obstacle to the development of productivity. As long as a factory cannot expand indefinitely, workers will eventually become a burden to the factory. When a factory only needs one worker, should we refuse to build such a factory because of the worker's problem?

Workers represent advanced productive forces, but this doesn't refer to individual workers. Workers, too, need metabolism and self-elimination. They suffer, too, because they too need constant progress. So, reality is just that cruel!

Therefore, for individuals, your only true iron rice bowl is your ability to work. This includes both physical and mental labor. Only by continuously improving your ability can you maintain a secure iron rice bowl, no matter where you live. Even though civil servants are considered iron rice bowls today, as long as government functions are not expanded indefinitely, this iron rice bowl will inevitably be broken. Someday in the future, these people may be the ones suffering the most.

Those who want to revolt against the old ways, in essence, all have one thing in common: they don't make money, it's unfair, and if we should be poor, it's fair for everyone to be poor together. In reality, a person can't make money because they're truly worthless. A high degree doesn't necessarily equate to high ability. It's unrealistic to ask how much a graduate earns, how much a master's degree earns, and how much a doctorate earns. Many people lack the skills, the strength, the looks, and the abilities. They're overambitious, blaming everything from the sky and the earth to the Soviet revisionists and the US. They never reflect on themselves, never find fault with themselves, and instead believe they're the best in the world, that no one recognizes their worth. They constantly accuse us of exploitation and oppression, never realizing how worthless we truly are.

In fact, we can assume the opposite, that the fruits of a person's labor are enjoyed entirely by himself, which would turn it into a small peasant economy. The farmer does not have to pay taxes and enjoys the fruits of his labor entirely by himself, and there are subsidies! But how many people are still willing to farm?

Industrialization inevitably involves division of labor and cooperation, and a worker's income is inevitably linked to their labor capacity. Even assuming piecework wages are free of exploitation, which would be considered fair, paying according to work, no piecework worker has ever gotten rich. They often complain about being exhausted and having little money. Just like delivery workers, the more you work, the more you earn.

Because low-level labor will become less and less valuable, even if he works himself to death, he will not have much money.

The value of labor and advanced labor is artificially determined to be similar, so countless people want to go back to that era, where they have no ability, work more or less without any change in income, and do ordinary jobs, with the same living status as those elites.

Even if there is nothing wrong, you can still pull out these elites to criticize them. How cool is that?

This is something that absolutely goes against objective laws. High-level labor will eventually get more rewards. Human control cannot be sustained in the long run. Once the market economy emerges, the income gap will inevitably widen. This is something that cannot be changed by personal will, and of course it will make those low-level workers feel uncomfortable.

Fair, because low-level workers no longer have the opportunity to be lazy, and it no longer matters how much they work. Even if they work themselves to death, they can only earn enough money to make a living. Moreover, the progress of society makes it difficult for them to keep up with the times without studying hard.

Are these people who are unwilling to make progress and keep up with the times like the literati of the old times? The literati at that time did not participate in labor. These people's labor was worthless, and they were unwilling to make progress and just wanted to lie down.

In reality, whether or not a person can make money, and how much they can earn, depends on the quantity and quality of their services. Just like celebrities and influencers, they can serve millions or even tens of millions of people with just a single film or video, each costing only a penny. This is far beyond the reach of ordinary workers. If a highly skilled job is unique to a certain person, they become the elite worker, able to achieve the life they desire at any time. Therefore, a person can only live the life they desire by constantly learning and improving their own value. Wanting to return to the past and live a desired life is idealism and a manifestation of a desire for fixed interests.

The reason countless people struggled to adapt after reform and opening up was because the demon of capital was unleashed and competition was introduced. Anyone who has read The Communist Manifesto knows that capitalism is bloody, full of evil, and devoid of any humanity. When productivity reaches a certain stage, when workers begin to represent their own interests, hoping for solidified gains, and no longer actively promote productivity development or represent class interests, they will themselves unleash the demon of capital.

Because if people want to achieve their ideal life, they need to have enough money, and to get money, they have to fight in the market. Only after the market test can we know whether they are dragons or worms.

Those who want to go back to the era of the Cultural Revolution are also losers in the market. They want so-called fairness, and everyone wants to live in harmony. They don’t want to participate in competition. They want to go back to the factories of that time and advocate the status of workers at that time. Do they want the country to support them, or do they want to live a life of idleness and waiting to die? Working in a factory for a lifetime without any technical requirements, having a high status, not being able to fire workers, and being able to inherit their father’s business, and wanting to solidify their interests, what a wonderful and ideal place to live a life of idleness and waiting to die.

What is the market? Survival of the fittest, the strong preying on the weak, winner takes all. People have become commodities for sale; this is reality, and reality is cruel. Everyone sells their labor or technology, and the market selects them. Are factory owners and capitalists the winners? Not really. Resources will be depleted, and they face the constant risk of bankruptcy. People are becoming increasingly unhappy. As material wealth increases, they also feel more and more stressed. This is normal.

In fact, the real injustice is to those who make fortunes from mining mineral resources. Mineral resources should belong to the state, be owned by all people, and serve all citizens. The money from mining and selling minerals should also be used to develop productivity, invest in infrastructure, or provide more public services such as medical care and education.

Many people envy the United States, but it is better to envy the comfort of the Federal Reserve, which prints dollars, and the comfort of the United States being able to exploit the whole world by printing money.

For the nation, empty talk like happiness and joy, or the tragedies and comedies of individual families, is simply not a consideration. The nation needs cold, cold machinery, the development of productivity, science and technology, and increasingly sophisticated talent. Meanwhile, people desire humanistic care and happiness, which are inherently contradictory. Materialism is so realistic, so cruel.

Humans tend to favor idealistic ideals, so progress is anti-human. Actively pursuing progress requires overcoming many inherent human traits. The Bi Gua in the Book of Changes states: "Be close to the strong, complement each other's strengths; comparison is auspicious." It's like saying happiness is found through comparison, good times are found through comparison, and beautiful women are found through comparison. It's precisely because of comparison, the desire to live better than others, that forces people to work and learn, and thus, society progresses.

Therefore, a person's true attitude is to constantly learn and improve. There's a saying that goes, "Do good deeds, don't worry about the future." For modern people, this means simply improving their abilities—the ability to solve problems and work—regardless of how much money they earn. Earning money is only an outcome; improving abilities is the process. With the ability to solve problems and provide more and better services, money will naturally follow. Ignoring the process of improving one's working abilities and simply aiming for the end result of wealth is nothing more than an idealistic fantasy.

Complaining is a very energy-consuming thing. Almost all people who have clear goals and work hard for them will not complain. On the contrary, people who have no goals, are confused, don't like to work, and don't know what to do will often complain.

If a person comes to the company and complains once in the morning, his whole day will be wasted.

Why not quit and work at this rubbish company? Does that mean that this person is also rubbish?

Therefore, complaining and longing for the good old days are not healthy attitudes. The only attitude a person should have is to progress, move forward, break free from the constraints of time, and not set boundaries for themselves.

So if a person has nothing to eat after working hard, then there is something wrong with the country. If you want to get rich, don't think of relying on anyone's charity or pity.

Socialism and communism are not complete welfare societies,

Because material wealth is extremely abundant, productivity has been greatly improved, but it is still people who control productivity.

Mastering this advanced productivity is still useless. It is just a pig raised by the person who masters the advanced productivity.

Unless humans can completely get rid of the problem of eating, that is, humans no longer need

Just eat, drink, defecate, urinate and sleep. At that time, all human problems will no longer be problems.

The.

Hard work is a very painful thing.

It is a desperate thing to move. I have to fight laziness every day.

Fighting, repeating what you did yesterday every day, even working yourself to the point of doubting the meaning of life

To a certain extent, it feels meaningless.

Pain, despair, laziness, doubt are all psychological things.

The obstacles of life.

So everyone should have a clear goal and work every day.

plans and goals, and our highest goal is to achieve communism.

Keep your heart towards the light, hold your faith, keep moving forward with hope, and believe that it can come true.

Now, it provides us with enough motivation to move forward.

Tai Gong said: "Being cautious and fearful brings blessings.

Tai Gong said: "If one understands the principle of grace without grace, one should be cautious.

Be careful and take good care of yourself.

Yes, it is your own destiny.

The attitude of doing things. The earth is in a low position, and a gentleman should be a man with great virtue.

Attitude.

Finally, stay away from people with problematic attitudes.

Coming back to his senses, Zhang Yinghao continued... Everyone should know that the Western powers

Qiang has been studying these for more than two hundred years. How much information have they accumulated?

They may not even know the information themselves. If we want to catch up with them, we must repeat all the experiments they have done, and not only know the results, but also the reasons behind them. That is, we must see the phenomenon and understand why it happens. Our current task is to digest all the scientific and technological achievements of foreign countries...

Chapter 257: More updates!

After finishing his lecture and returning to his office, Zhang Yinghao received good news. Meishan Mayor Zhao Erni had sent a telegram announcing that they had discovered a large vein of sodium sulfate in the county below. The first phase of the factory had been completed, and trial production had been successful, with a monthly output of over 500 tons of sodium sulfate.

Sodium sulfate is a general term for sodium sulfate compounds in nature. It can appear in two forms: hydrated sodium sulfate and anhydrous sodium sulfate. It can also form complex salts with other compounds, such as calcium sodium sulfate, potassium sodium sulfate, and sodium carbonate.

The prospects of sodium sulfate are very broad. It can be used to make water glass, glass, porcelain glaze, pulp, refrigeration mixture, detergent, desiccant, dye diluent, analytical chemical reagent, pharmaceuticals, etc.

Zhang Yinghao was delighted to hear the news. Besides using all this material himself, he could also sell it to foreigners in exchange for machinery and equipment. However, transportation was currently limited, so even if large quantities were mined, transporting them would be a major problem. Furthermore, the annual output was only 6,000 tons, which wasn't much at all.

Sichuan has been rich in natural resources and has many outstanding people since ancient times. This is one of the reasons why Zhang Yinghao gave up the revolution in Shaanxi and stayed in Sichuan.

Sichuan is a rare province that was virtually independent of others. Later, it developed a heavy industrial system centered on machinery, electronics, metallurgy, chemicals, and building materials. A light industrial system focused on textiles, silk, leather, papermaking, food, and instrumentation also emerged. It also led the nation in fields such as aviation, aerospace, nuclear energy, electronics, optical machinery, bioengineering, and polymer materials.

Sichuan is rich in resources such as phosphorus, sulfur, brine, and natural gas, and has the basic conditions for developing a chemical industry.

The people of Sichuan have long accumulated practical experience in agricultural production and daily life, utilizing natural resources and using ancient methods to produce and apply pigments, paints, pesticides, dyes, sulfur, Glauber's saltpeter, wood ash alkali, saltpeter, and black powder, among other daily necessities. However, the long-standing self-sufficient agricultural society hampered the development and widespread application of production technology. Only after the liberation of Sichuan did its chemical industry gain new development opportunities and broad prospects.

After liberation, various regions began building factories based on their resources. Zhang Yinghao even established a Science and Technology Research and Management Committee specifically for this purpose. This committee actively collected ancient production techniques and the practical experience of local people, exhibited the scientific principles within, and determined whether these could be adapted for industrial production. For example, Sichuan established numerous soda ash factories, employing approximately 2,000 people, and most are now capable of producing basic chemical raw materials. However, in counties, these factories were primarily handicraft workshops, producing simple daily necessities like matches, soap, and vanishing cream without any problems.

........The most important task for you comrades next is to set up small laboratories. Using spectral analysis, we can purify all the elements in the periodic table I've obtained. This work has been done almost exclusively by foreign scientists, and now we must repeat it. This is essential..."

After finishing the lecture, I returned to the office, sat down and drank a cup of tea, and suddenly thought of something that I should have done a long time ago, but I had forgotten because I was so busy.

Zhang Yinghao is in this state right now. In addition to his normal work, he also has to go to school to give lectures. In addition, as he is doing now, he immediately writes down whatever he thinks of and then hands it over to the relevant people to do.

However, this matter cannot be left to others. Zhang Yinghao had to do it as soon as he thought of it. He immediately went to the Military Commission Office to convene a Military Commission meeting to discuss the next direction of military deployment.

After everyone arrived, Zhang Yinghao said, "Comrades, I called you all here today to discuss the next direction of our military deployment. Let me tell you something simple: when we conquer a place, we generally need to gain the approval of the local people before we can gain a firm foothold and quickly promote our work. If we rush into a place rashly, we may even find ourselves in a situation where we can't make any progress. Am I right?"

"Correct."

"I do feel that way." "Yeah, that's right."

After hearing everyone's responses, Zhang Yinghao continued, "I won't go into the distant past. Comrade Zhang Feng liberated Shaanxi. Without the foundation laid by Comrade Zhao Liang, how could he have completed basic land reform so quickly? The role played by those local people was incomparable and cannot be ignored."

"Chairman, please tell me what to do."

"Well, I've thought about this for a long time and have discussed this with other comrades before. Since we know that Comrades Li Tong and Zhao Liang have made great achievements, let's send more comrades out to develop bases. This will reduce the resistance to unifying the country in the future. What do you think?"

"Chairman, how do we control the army developed by these comrades who have been sent out?" "The principle of our revolutionary army is that the party commands the gun. The people we send out are not individuals, but small teams. We must trust our comrades!"

"What is the Chairman going to do?"

"It's not about how I plan to do it, but how we all discuss it. If everyone thinks it's okay, then we do it. If everyone thinks it's not okay, then we don't do it."

"Well, we can indeed send some comrades to develop the revolutionary base area first and prepare for the future advance. We can't just stay in Sichuan."

"Who will the Chairman send out?"

Which people to send out is a technical issue. I will explain how to send them later. Since everyone has no different opinions, let's raise our hands.

Let's take a vote. Those who agree to send troops please raise your hands."

Zhang Yinghao raised his hand, and the other committee members followed suit. "Since everyone agrees, my suggestion is to send someone from our province. They're familiar with the environment, speak the local language, and know who we should unite with and who we should fight against. We won't be completely in the dark, and this way we can gain a firm foothold more quickly."

"Of course, they can't all be from this province. If a squad is sent out, one or two from this province will suffice, but there must be a party member."

"Yes, I agree. It seems that instructors are usually at least active members of the Party, right?"

"If he's not an activist, how can he be promoted? At least he is an activist."

"I agree."

"Alright, then sign the order. Have the troops below carry it out. After they've done so, report the relevant numbers back to us, and we'll provide them with additional personnel."

"Don't we need to gather together for some training?"

"No need. Why would we need to train them if we want them to go home and start a revolution? How much time would it take to go back and forth? Just let their leaders make the arrangements. We're not stupid, we know what to do."

In this way, squads of soldiers quietly disappeared from the land of Sichuan and reappeared in vast rural areas across the country, carrying out arduous revolutions in those places. Zhang Yinghao knew that not all of his squads would be able to develop, but as long as a few of them did, it would be a profit. Although some local comrades had been sent to carry out revolution in the past, this was the second time that troops were sent there, the first time being when Zhao Liang and Li Tong were sent.

After issuing the order, Zhang Yinghao turned around and looked at the national map. Suddenly, he saw a striking red line drawn across the three northeastern provinces. He was stunned for a moment, blinked, and asked, "What's with this line?"

"Chairman, this is a railway that opened this year. It's called the Middle East Railway. It was built by the Russians."

When Zhang Yinghao saw the railway, he suddenly had a sudden realization. He had been wondering why the Qing hadn't bothered him. During this time, the few remaining rebels in Hebei had fled to Shaanxi. The Beiyang Army had simply attacked Tongguan before withdrawing. It seemed the Qing was truly trapped, trapped both internally and externally, and unable to cope.

Zhang Yinghao still remembers Zhang Feng's first telegram: "There are volunteers from Hebei who want to surrender. Do you want to accept them?" Zhang Yinghao replied: "Revolutionary principles are superior to feudal superstition."