The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Zhang Yinghao didn't consider this a problem, so he hadn't raised it before. But now, it seems, the soldiers' minds are no longer entirely clear. The question of whether the soldiers are loyal to the nation and its people, or to individuals, is a question of the very nature of the armed forces, a question of its very nature. It's a fundamental political issue. If the military doesn't understand this, it will ultimately lead to serious problems. There's no room for sloppiness.

Zhang Yinghao suddenly understood Yuan Shikai's maneuvers during military training. How, when the army was called out, they had to shout, "I'm Yuan Gongbao's food," and pledge allegiance to him. How, when training troops, Yuan Gongbao held positions and money in one hand, and a knife in the other. If they obeyed, they would receive positions and money; if they disobeyed, they would be beheaded. How, after announcing a promotion for a subordinate, he would immediately take him down and spank him, using both kindness and severity.

The result was that Yuan Shikai had already lost control of his army before he died. And once he died, the army he had founded quickly became loyal to other individuals and transformed into a warlord. Yuan Shikai's propaganda was that if you pay me, you must serve me, and the army ultimately became a force of service for whoever paid the price.

Chiang Kai-shek's army was divided into three categories: the most loyal of the loyal, the miscellaneous of the loyal, and the most miscellaneous of the miscellaneous. He also used the closeness of local ties and personal relationships to control the army. He then resorted to sowing discord to divide and disintegrate any troops he could no longer control. The result? The troops lacked coordination and engaged in intrigue on the battlefield. Zhang Yinghao also despised this method of controlling the army.

Just as Zhang Yinghao was pondering how to restructure his army, groups of men gathered on a large flat ground thirty kilometers from Zhangjiagou. Some were familiar with each other, some were strangers, and some even harbored hatred for each other. It was a noisy gathering.

"Second brother, you are the king of heaven and the tiger of earth." You are so brave that you dare to anger your ancestors.

"Hand in hand, have you stepped on the plate well?" Friend, have you checked it well?

"Are you hanging on or on duty?"

......

A large group of people were talking in jargon here. Some were arguing, some were building relationships, and some were making friends. If they hadn't come here to discuss important matters, those who had grudges might have started fighting long ago.

In a house not far from the gathering, several bandit leaders and a group of landlords and gentry were holding a meeting. Some of these armed forces were employed by the landlords, while others were invited. They had gathered nearly all the armed forces within the vast oval centered between Zhangjiagou and Guang'an Prefecture, fully demonstrating the appeal and influence of these landlords and gentry in the area.

At this time, the fat middle-aged man who had spoken in front of the provincial government spoke up: "Everyone, the peasants in Zhangjiagou are trying to make trouble. They are dividing up the land and trying to dig up our roots. Those gentry died unjustly. It has been found out here. It was the rebels in Zhangjiagou who did it. We must avenge them. This time, suppressing the rebels is a great achievement. I have already said this in front of the county magistrate. When the time comes, you will naturally be given a status. After taking Zhangjiagou, we will not take any of the property inside. We will give it all to you. Your food and fodder and wages have been fully prepared. The prefect will report your achievements to the governor in the future. You can all have your wives and children ennobled, and be granted titles and positions of nobility. Who knows, perhaps among us there will be another figure like Zuo Wenxiang or Zeng Wenzheng."

He burst into laughter, and everyone else laughed too. The landlord offered bribes and official positions, but it was all to get them to work for him. No one cared what he said. As long as he provided money and food, everything else would be fine. Without money and food, who would fight you to death? The meeting didn't last long; it quickly disbanded, and everyone divided up the money and food, then led their troops towards Zhangjiagou...

Chapter 33: The mob is pushed back

3820 words

When you want to become a certain kind of person, you will never succeed. ——Zhang Yinghao Quotes

Speaking of which, the landlord who wanted to attack Zhang Yinghao was also frightened. His family had made their fortune by suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, so he naturally knew that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's soldiers were fearless and ruthless. Now his family was a large landowner. Although he didn't know the specific thoughts of the peasants below, he knew clearly that which landlord didn't have three years of food. He also knew how much the land meant to those peasants.

Generally, rebellious forces always make a big noise. However, the bandits in Zhangjiagou did not raise the flag of rebellion after they defeated the landlords. Instead, they built a reservoir. This is something that ordinary bandits cannot do. Moreover, after defeating the landlords and confiscating so much money and grain, they did not continue to fight the landlords. Instead, they put aside their greed and did not lose their rationality. This is a very scary thing.

Every time the landlord thought about this, he wondered what conspiracy was brewing in Zhangjiagou. It was really terrifying. Because of this, he hadn't had a good night's sleep for a long time and had lost several pounds because of it.

These large landlord families control the local grassroots government, and their tentacles extend to all aspects of society. They know that the world is inevitably getting worse. Naturally, they want to maintain their current status and no one can shake it, and pass it on to future generations. However, Zhangjiagou killed the landlords without leaving any trace, and now they are also making a deal to divide the land. They know very well that their good life depends on the labor of these poor people. Without the labor of these poor people, how can they expect themselves to work? The landlords know this very well. The most realistic theory of the landlords is that they cannot get rich without killing the poor.

Moreover, the landlord knew that if word of what Zhangjiagou had done got out, it would be another Hong Yang Rebellion, and he would lose his life and property, let alone his land. So he gathered a group of landlords and went to the county magistrate to file a complaint. However, seeing that the government was unreliable and Zhangjiagou himself had offended them, he decided to go all out and take matters into his own hands. The bandits he had raised were no pushovers, and he thought he could make a fortune by taking down Zhangjiagou.

Of course, these landlords might not have known about marching and fighting, but they did possess the experience and shrewdness that is characteristic of landlords. Therefore, they had already gathered some information and knew that Zhangjiagou had money, guns, and people. Therefore, they gathered bandits and mobilized militias, intending to use human wave tactics to pacify Zhangjiagou.

By this time, Zhang Yinghao had also received news that a thousand-strong landlord militia was coming to attack him. Not daring to be careless, Zhang Yinghao immediately sent out a small, elite team to investigate along the way. As time went on, they brought back more and more news.

After understanding the enemy's marching route, Zhang Yinghao and his men set up ambushes on both sides of the bandits' route. Standing on a high vantage point, Zhang Yinghao saw a sparse group of people approaching with a lot of noise. What stunned Zhang Yinghao was that they didn't seem to be coming for a fight, but rather for a picnic. Zhang Yinghao finally saw what a two-pistol soldier looked like: a broken gun and a heavy pipe, or perhaps a broken knife and a pipe.

As modern people, there's no room for politeness when it comes to opium. Zhang Yinghao simply rounded up the heavy smokers he caught and forced them to do hard labor. They either died of exhaustion or quit, there was no third option. As for the opium dealers, they were all turned into lecturers. And in this group, some smokers even formed groups while walking, lying down on the side of the road to enjoy a few comfortable puffs.

"I heard that after we capture this village, we can take whatever we want?"

"Yes, the boss said that none of the women or children should be kept. They can all be sold to the landlords."

"You idiots, I heard there are guns in the village we attacked this time."

"Haha, you see, we have quite a few too. The boss said that after this fight, we'll have a good year ahead of us."

"Grab, grab, grab, grab as hard as you can. I'll take two puffs now, and then I'll have the strength."

"What do you think we should do if the people from Zhangjiagou attack us now?"

"Haha, this place is still a million miles away from Zhangjiagou. How did the people in Zhangjiagou know we were going to attack their village today?"

......

The bandits have already begun to imagine the beautiful fantasy of robbing food, money, and women.

Zhang Yinghao's reason for traveling so far to ambush this group was naturally due to his understanding of their psychology. No one would have expected Zhang Yinghao to take the initiative, setting up an ambush and wiping them out in one fell swoop. Regardless of the bandits' fantasies, Zhang Yinghao knew that if he could wipe out these people, there would be no more decent armed forces in this vast area except for the Qing court. However, Zhang Yinghao's attention was still focused on the small group in the middle. They were the thugs raised by the landlords. They were the elite of this era, and it could be said that this group of people was the real reason why Zhang Yinghao came here.

The private armed forces raised by these landlords and evil gentry can be said to be one in a hundred in terms of physical fitness. These people do not have any bad habits of smoking opium. The landlords treat them very well. Some of them can learn some culture and even send them to school. They are the real reliance of the landlords.

Zhang Yinghao looked at the long line and knew he couldn't take them all in at once. The group was so sparse and the line was too long, and his ambush circle wasn't that wide. But it wouldn't be easy for these people to escape. With this smoker's physique, he was lucky to catch his breath after running a few steps.

After understanding the situation, Zhang Yinghao pointed at the group in the middle and said to Zhang Feng with a smile, "Let go of the people in front and focus on the group in the middle. They are the elite. After killing them, the whole team will collapse. Then rush up and chase them in both directions. Bayonet bloodshed, cut off the leaders and tails, and it is best not to let any of them escape."

The course and final outcome of the battle were just as Zhang Yinghao had predicted. After two volleys of gunfire, the bandit group collapsed. The soldiers then simply captured prisoners. The battle was as simple as that. However, a minor incident occurred. Two bandit leaders proved to be ferocious. They survived the two volleys of gunfire and fought the soldiers desperately, brandishing their swords. Their final counterattack injured several soldiers, and one was killed.

After the battle ended and the battlefield was cleaned up, Zhang Feng reported: "Commander, we have a total of 18 wounded and one sacrifice."

Zhang Yinghao said after hearing this, "This rabble, you are responsible for immediately separating and interrogating them. Which ones are bandits and which ones are militia? Separate them. Find out which landlords sent the militia. Once you find out, bring your men and take them down immediately. We will take revenge in no time. I will go and ask for any news from the state capital. I hope those officials will be sensible and let them live a few more days. Go ahead, we have a lot of work to do."

"Yes."

After a short interrogation, they quickly discovered which landlords, gentry, and bandits had participated in the siege of Zhangjiagou. Zhang Feng immediately blew the whistle, assembling all troops to attack the bandit strongholds and the landlords' enclosures. By midnight, the landlords' homes had been surrounded, their escape routes blocked.

After a night of rest, the troops were ready to attack the next morning after breakfast. Since the militia had been dispatched to attack Zhangjiagou, there weren't many left at home. Many collapsed after the soldiers fired two rounds. Those that didn't collapse quickly left the battlefield after the soldiers entered the fortress, leaving behind a group of trembling landlords.

Zhang Yinghao knew that at this time, he had to quickly and ruthlessly eliminate the landlord forces that were attacking him, and give those with bad intentions a strong deterrent and warning. However, when attacking the largest landlord, there was still a problem. That is, this landlord's house actually had an armed force. The soldiers attacked twice and were repelled, with heavy casualties. Zhang Yinghao looked over and saw that the landlord's house was like an earthen bunker, surrounded by a thick wall outside, and built on the mountain. It was like a small military fortress, which was indeed difficult to attack. Zhang Yinghao was also quite troubled after seeing this. He did not have any artillery, and his ability to attack was indeed not good enough.

Zhang Yinghao looked up at the sky and said, "We can't fight now. A strong attack is not in our favor. If we continue, we will suffer heavy losses. Since the other side is well prepared, let's retreat a little. We came here so quickly, this landlord must not be well prepared. They must go to other places for help. All those who are sent out for help must be captured. Moreover, this kind of landlord is rich and powerful, so there must be an escape route. Tell the comrades to search carefully for me nearby. See if you can find the entrance to the tunnel. If you find it, keep an eye on it for me, and capture anyone who comes out. This is how we fight tonight..."

As Zhang Yinghao had said, the landlord had sent people out in several directions to call for reinforcements. Letters were sent from Guang'an Prefecture and even Shunqing Prefecture asking for help. Zhang Yinghao felt that the landlord might be a powerful family. Several people had crawled out of an abandoned well and were discovered by soldiers before they found the entrance to the tunnel. Zhang Yinghao didn't care about the tunnel. Since they were not planning a surprise attack, the landlord's family would definitely be well-prepared. Knowing about the tunnel would be useless. After interrogation, Zhang Yinghao realized that the landlord was extremely cruel. He was actually afraid that the bandits would come to his house to rob him without control, so he separated a small part of his troops and the bandit militia to attack Zhangjiagou. Zhang Yinghao was furious that the landlord left most of the militia at home. He was really good at betraying his teammates.

During the day, Zhang Yinghao made several long ladders and deliberately demonstrated them to the people on the wall. He also performed several ladder-climbing demonstrations from a distance, letting the landlords know that Zhang Yinghao intended to attack the earthen bunker head-on. Secretly, Zhang Yinghao also ordered people to prepare several large gunpowder bags, ready to blow down the wall in one fell swoop.

Meanwhile, the landlord inside was already ruing his fate. He could never have imagined, could not comprehend, that a force of a thousand men could be defeated so quickly, even to the point of being pushed back to his very doorstep. The situation had changed so swiftly that he had no time to react. He knew the saying "a crushing defeat," but in his mind, even if it were a thousand pigs or a thousand chickens, catching them all would be difficult.

However, the incident had already happened, and there was no point in regretting it. The landlord was still confident that he could defend his fortress. He had guns, ammunition, food, and money, so he could hold out for a while without any problems. Moreover, someone in his family was an official in another place. No matter what the Guang'an County Magistrate's purpose was, as long as he went out to report it, he would definitely come to rescue him. So now he was making a big fuss in the village about the bandits attacking the village, and threatening to massacre the whole village if the bandits entered. This really encouraged many villagers to defend the wall together.

Zhang Yinghao ignored the changes within the walls and immediately dispatched a select group of soldiers with metal loudspeakers to broadcast a message reminiscent of the previous attack on landlord Liu Youcai. They started at noon, continued in the afternoon, and then again in the evening, their goal being to expose the landlord's true nature.

The content is: Everyone, listen up! We are the security guards of Zhangjiagou. We are here because the landlord inside this enclosure sent people to attack us, and we are back for revenge. We have no hatred towards the villagers inside this enclosure. Everyone, go home and close your doors. We will never enter your houses. If you don't go back, when we attack, immediately lie down on the ground with your hands on your head, and we will not attack you. But if you insist on sticking with the landlord to the end, we will not be polite. Everyone, please think of your wives and children at home. Everyone, remember, when we attack, you must find a way to escape, otherwise there will be no one to take care of your family..."

Then the soldiers began to list the landlord's crimes in detail. The landlord's face was covered with oil, and he was sweating with anxiety. He kept calling them rebels and Hong Xiuquan traitors! As a trapped beast, he could only do this.

Day passed, and night fell. In this era, the nights were not brightly lit; they were pitch black. Fearing an attack from Zhangjiagou, everyone was on guard, no one went down to rest. But it was night, and Zhang Yinghao wouldn't attack. In this era, using night battles to capture an enemy would certainly increase casualties.

Chapter 34: Expanding the Territory and Identifying the Enemy

3843 words

The moment you stop actively pursuing learning and progress, you've already fallen behind! — Quotes from Zhang Yinghao

At night, Zhang Yinghao ordered the troops to make preparations in a big way at the front, with slogans and loud noises. Some clever soldiers even found gongs and drums and started beating them. For a while, the whole place was filled with the deafening noise of gongs and drums.

On the other side, two small teams quietly approached the wall, dug holes with shovels, and buried the gunpowder bags they had prepared. There was no need to attack at night, so after burying the gunpowder, they retreated. Zhang Yinghao ordered the main force to rest for the night, and arranged for the small forces to carry out continuous harassment and sneak attacks.

The next day, Zhang Yinghao called out to the soldiers again. As soon as he finished speaking, earth-shattering explosions were heard from two other directions. Zhang Yinghao knew that his victory was inevitable.

By this time, Zhang Yinghao had come to understand the importance of morale. After his first lecture to his comrades, he believed that morale needed no further boosting when it came to attacking the landlords and wealthy. After all, these people had been exploited by the landlords and gentry. Once the truth was made clear, they would be the best fighters.

Zhang Yinghao said to Zhang Feng, "Since we have taken the city, you just watch here. I'm going back. Pay attention to discipline. Comrade Bao Shilin should be here soon. You must hand over the situation to him clearly. You must clearly identify the captured militia prisoners of war. Which ones have committed many crimes, which ones are just trying to make a living, and which ones are farmers' children. For those who are still within the scope of rescue, we will try our best to save them. After all, these people have touched guns and are good soldiers. Then start teaching them lessons and complaining to them. How much you can convert depends on your ability.

Remember, those who have been converted are the soldiers you will lead in the future. Don't hold personal grudges against them, and don't abuse or beat them. We're attacking the landlords, and those who are killed will be killed. But after we capture them, except for those who have committed the most heinous crimes, all others who don't resist us to the end will be converted if they can. If they can't be converted, they will be sent to labor reform and then released later. I'm confident in leaving this matter to you. I'm going back now. I'm going to see how many of those bandit dens we've taken down."

After saying that, Zhang Yinghao walked back with the guards. They had experienced many things like attacking landlords many times and had some experience in identifying prisoners, so Zhang Yinghao was relieved to leave these matters to Zhang Feng and others.

After returning to Zhangjiagou, Wang Daqiang came to report: "Captain, after two days of operations, we have almost completely captured the bandit dens that participated in the attack on Zhangjiagou, and all the people inside have been brought down the mountain. The old bandit dens have few young and strong men left, and are mostly just the elderly, weak, and sick. And when we went to the new bandit dens, many of them were already deserted."

"Okay, we must carefully identify these people, especially the older ones. There might be a big fish or a criminal who has committed many crimes hidden among them."

"Yes."

After listening to Wang Daqiang's report, Zhang Yinghao put the matter aside. However, he suddenly realized that although the territory had more than doubled and the workload had increased with this round of expansion, his own tasks had not increased much. Zhang Yinghao even took the time to research and found that once you have some experience and references for handling certain matters, progress will be much faster. Many things no longer need to be reported to Zhang Yinghao.

So now Zhang Yinghao could employ people with greater confidence. His approach to hiring people changed to a new location. Instead of sending two newcomers together, he employed a mentoring approach, using experienced personnel to help the newcomers get started and see them through. In new areas, experienced "veterans" would mentor the newcomers, while deputies would take over in established areas. This wasn't just true for administration; the security corps also had numerous deputies, all in preparation for future expansion.

With a little free time, Zhang Yinghao went to the female soldiers' training ground. Zhang Yinghao had never intended to use them as field troops; at most, they would be medics. Of course, training a few specialized female soldiers like the Fire Phoenix was still necessary, but there was no rush to train them right now. The female soldiers were already few in number, and each one was precious; there was no way they would actually be sent to the battlefield.

As a modern man, Zhang Yinghao understood the importance of publicity better than anyone of his time. If he didn't seize the public opinion frontier, it would be occupied by the enemy. Although Zhang Yinghao had already planned to establish a newspaper, he needed to expand it and gain more room to maneuver before he could publicly publicize something. He couldn't do that yet, otherwise, if the Qing officials took it seriously, the pressure on him would be immense. Therefore, Zhang Yinghao hadn't yet visited Guang'an Prefecture. However, the practice of internal reporting had begun with the establishment of the paper mill and printing plant. If his comrades were completely in the dark about inside information, it would be detrimental to their unity and work.

Zhang Yinghao had come today to discuss the formation of a cultural and arts corps. He had always wanted to do so, but had always been too busy to find the time. Now, Zhang Yinghao felt that after his brutal beating of the local militia, the government, landlords, and bandits would all behave themselves for a while. At the very least, they would thoroughly investigate the situation here before taking any action. This meant that he would definitely be able to live a peaceful life for a while.

Just as Zhang Yinghao had predicted, over a thousand people vanished without a trace. The landlords and gentry were terrified, the government was also terrified, and the county magistrate, Zeng Chuanqi, intensified his efforts, hoping to be removed from this troubled area as quickly as possible! Zeng Chuanqi didn't sit idly by, however. He sent a telegram to Chengdu to report the incident. As for the outcome, he had no way of knowing.

Zhang Yinghao has no time to rest now, and he has started teaching his music class again. What does he teach? Of course, he starts from the basics of music, teaching do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, dou. Zhang Yinghao himself does not know how to draw the five-line staff and the like, and he only remembers these eight pronunciations, which he learned when he was in elementary school. Zhang Yinghao now admits that he has not learned this lesson well. But Zhang Yinghao considers himself a person who likes to sing, so teaching a few songs is not a problem. After practicing these pronunciations, there will always be smart people who know how to use the five-line staff. Otherwise, the first person to invent the five-line staff must be a god. Since he is not a god, Zhang Yinghao believes that there are people on his side who can figure it out.

Zhang Yinghao always believed that instilling consciousness must begin with daily life, with habits. Songs were one such tool, subtly influencing people's lives. Of course, Zhang Yinghao wouldn't teach love songs, but revolutionary songs. Using songs to promote his revolutionary ideas was also a way to mobilize the masses and spread his ideas. Zhang Yinghao taught these art soldiers revolutionary songs, and then sent them to the troops to teach the soldiers how to sing them.

Besides this work, Zhang Yinghao spent his free time writing articles. He had been thinking about a question: Sun Zhongshan should have already begun to organize revolutionary groups abroad, and soon, a series of tragic revolutionary uprisings would be launched across the country, especially in the southern provinces. However, the fall of the Qing Dynasty was still more than a decade away, and even if there were revolutionaries in China now, they would not be numerous, at most just a few with radical ideas.

The surge in revolutionaries likely occurred after the Qing abolished the imperial examination system. Scholars, seeing no future in China, fled abroad, most notably to Japan. Then, these revolutionary pioneers spread the word, and ultimately, wave after wave of people sacrificed themselves for the revolution.

This is both admirable and tragic. The Xinhai Revolution, in exchange for the sacrifices of these revolutionaries, ultimately failed to gain leadership due to its weakness and compromise. Instead of directly leading China towards a rapid rebirth, it plunged into a long period of warlord warfare. In fact, China's advancement was far superior to that of the Soviet Union. The Taiping Rebellion had a complete land program, and the Xinhai Revolution preceded the Soviet Union by a full five years. If these pioneers had not compromised, or if they had a better understanding of national conditions, the Soviet Union might have been left in the dust, and Outer Mongolia would still be part of China's territory.

Time never stops for anyone or anything, nor does it speed up or slow down; it just flows on relentlessly. More than twenty days had passed since the bandits and landlords were brought down. All the heavy smokers and captured landlords had been sent to labor reform. Some of these landlords had grown up in the local area or inherited their ancestral businesses. They had no bad habits and had not committed any crimes such as intentionally killing local villagers.

They exploited the warmth of a clan's clannishness to earn higher profits, or even opened shops, while others performed good deeds like repairing bridges and roads. Since they hadn't committed any serious crimes, while it would have been fine to execute them, such a random killing wasn't Zhang Yinghao's intention. Many villagers wouldn't understand the reasoning behind the killings, so they were forced to place those innocent in labor camps. Seeing these formerly high-ranking individuals working alongside the villagers, digging ponds, reservoirs, and canals, was something the villagers welcomed, and they were happy with the treatment.

Zhang Yinghao had already made up his mind to treat these people harshly, transforming them into self-reliant laborers. He would not release them until the entire country was liberated. By then, they would no longer have the power to organize against his regime. He couldn't release them until his power reached a certain level. Otherwise, they would become just like what he had seen on television in his previous life: they would retaliate against their revolutionary comrades and become extremely reactionary.

Zhang Yinghao sometimes doesn't understand why some people still believe in the pedantic saying "repay evil with virtue." Actually, this saying comes from "Xianwen (The Analects of Confucius)":

"Someone asked, 'What about repaying evil with kindness?' Confucius answered, 'How do you repay kindness? Repay evil with justice, and repay kindness with virtue.'" Also, in "Stories to Warn the World: The Reunion of Su Zhixian's Luoshan": "He also gave a hundred taels of white gold to the old nun in the nunnery, and another ten taels of silver to the old nun to build a monastery to pray for the souls of Master Su, Grandma Zhu, and Su Sheng and his wife. This is called 'repaying evil with justice, and repaying kindness with virtue.'"

Someone asked, "How about repaying evil with good?" Confucius replied, "How should I repay good? I should repay evil with impartiality and repay good with good."

Zhang Yinghao believes the phrase "repaying evil with kindness" is perfectly acceptable, but it must be practiced among comrades—that is, within the same system, with shared interests. Only then can this be done, punishing past mistakes for future ones and healing the sick. After all, there's a saying: "Brothers remain after all hardships, and a smile at meeting erases all grudges." Repaying evil with kindness has its own prerequisites, and it shouldn't be abused indiscriminately.

Destroying someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. Struggles between different interest groups can be life-or-death. Repaying evil with kindness is both kindness to the enemy and cruelty to oneself. To repay evil with kindness requires absolute power, allowing others to attack you in order to elevate and perfect yourself. After all, only the victor can be magnanimous!

Taizu once said: "Who are our friends and who are our enemies? This is the primary question of the revolution." What is primary? It's the most important issue that must be addressed first, the principle that must be understood first. Furthermore, one of the three major work styles of the Communist Party is criticism and self-criticism. Therefore, with friends and family, within the bounds of principle, it's acceptable to repay grievances with kindness. However, with enemies, it's necessary to repay grievances with righteousness.

At the same time, in Zhang Yinghao's current eyes, the peasant masses are the silent majority. With education, they can become his allies, but they must undergo transformation and learning. As for these landlords, at most, a few will participate in the revolution, a few are sympathizers of the revolution, and the vast majority are counter-revolutionaries.

So if we kill all of these people, there might be some who are innocent, but if we kill every other one, then none of them are innocent. If we simply release these people, we will cause trouble for ourselves, or even bring about fatal disaster for ourselves and our notification. We should not be too soft-hearted.

Chapter 35: Loud singing and busy reporting

3637 words

There is one song for each mood, but one song can represent countless moods. — Quotes from Zhang Yinghao

Zhang Yinghao now feels incredibly satisfied walking the streets of Zhangjiagou Village. The paths in front of and behind houses are now paved with cement, giving the village a new look. He feels a surge of fighting spirit rising within him.

Suddenly, Zhang Yinghao heard loud singing coming from the training ground. These songs were taught by Zhang Yinghao to the art soldiers, who then taught them to the soldiers in the team. Zhang Yinghao walked over and saw that it was the soldiers singing.

This group of soldiers sang "Three Major Disciplines and Eight Points for Attention":

Every revolutionary soldier must bear in mind the three major disciplines and eight points of attention:

First, all actions must be carried out under command, and only by moving in unison can victory be achieved.

Second, I never take a single needle or thread from the masses, and the masses support and like me.

Third, all spoils must be turned over to the public, and efforts must be made to reduce the burden on the people.

We must observe the three major disciplines and never forget the eight points of attention.

First, you should speak in a friendly manner, respect the masses and don’t be arrogant.

Second, the transaction price must be fair, and the transaction must be conducted in a fair and open manner without any arrogance.

Third, if you have borrowed something from someone and used it, return it in person and do not lose it.

Fourth, if something is damaged, compensation will be paid according to the price without any difference.

Fifth, beating and scolding people are prohibited, and warlord style must be overcome resolutely.

Sixth, take care of the people's crops and pay attention to them everywhere during marching and fighting.

Seventh, you are not allowed to molest women, and hooligan habits must be eliminated.

Eighth, it is forbidden to abuse captured soldiers, beat or scold them, or search their pockets.

Everyone should consciously abide by discipline and supervise each other to avoid violations.

Every rule of revolutionary discipline must be clearly remembered, and the people's soldiers must love the people everywhere.

Defending the motherland is always moving forward, and the people of the whole country support and welcome it.