The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

A burst of gunfire followed, bullets flying across the street, holes punched into the walls, and debris flew everywhere. The PLA soldiers were initially overwhelmed by the barrage. Leaning against the wall was useless, and they were instantly knocked down. Other PLA soldiers immediately dropped to the ground, desperately rolling from side to side to avoid the bullets. Many of them also pulled grenades from their belts and threw them. Taking advantage of the smoke from the explosion that obscured their vision, the PLA soldiers rushed forward another twenty meters.

Perhaps truly aware of their inevitable death, the battalion commander remained exceptionally calm, able to counter the PLA's moves. He immediately declared, "Everyone, fire together."

Chapter 332:

The People's Liberation Army was temporarily suppressed by the firepower of the Qing army and could not raise its head. Wu Debiao took advantage of the opportunity that the People's Liberation Army was pinned to the ground and could not move to have people reload bullets for him. He himself used his advantage of accurate shooting to shoot continuously. Soon a squad of comrades lay on the ground motionless.

The PLA foolishly fought back and forth for several rounds, unable to break through and suffering dozens of casualties. Fortunately, the Governor's Office was well-equipped with artillery, otherwise the losses would have been even more severe. Of course, if the Governor's Office had artillery, the PLA would have been quick to react and opened fire.

Li Lao Hu personally came to the front of the governor's office at this time. He saw that the Qing army inside was still making a desperate resistance. He glanced at the comrades who had died on the ground, turned to look at the battalion commander who was leading the attack and said: "Where are the cannons? Fire!"

"Commander, there are no artillery on the other side! And if we fire, the house will be destroyed."

Li Lao Hu was about to laugh when he heard this, but he suddenly remembered what Zhang Yinghao had said during the training. He immediately realized that his comrades had not fought enough, had not mastered the laws of war, and did not know how to fight. He immediately suppressed his anger and said, "War does not require fair duels. Besides, our comrades' lives are more valuable than those dilapidated houses. Fire immediately and use the cannons to clear the way."

"Yes."

The artillery had actually been ready long ago, but the battalion commander wanted to see if the infantry could attack, so he had not ordered the artillery to fire. Now that they had received the order to fire, the artillerymen naturally did not hesitate at all. A small group of soldiers adjusted the angles of both mortars and immediately loaded the ammunition. Two shells fell from the sky, one landing right on the gatehouse of the governor's office, knocking it down with the violent explosion, and the other, by chance, landed next to a machine gun, which was completely destroyed, and several Qing soldiers nearby were killed.

The Qing soldiers were stunned by the sudden bombardment. They had no idea how the shells came from, let alone how to avoid them. At this moment, several more shells fell, blowing away all the previous barricades and killing all the Qing soldiers inside. Having lost their last line of defense, the Qing army quickly collapsed!

When Guiyang was broken, Lin Shaonian attempted suicide by taking poison at the last moment, but was saved by a PLA military doctor who gave him an enema in time. He did not achieve his goal of dying for the Qing Dynasty. The rest of the Qing troops were either shot or knelt in surrender.

Since ancient times, Yunnan and Guizhou have been considered impoverished frontier regions, plagued by rampant corruption. Those officials who traveled thousands of miles to these frontier regions weren't meant to endure hardship. Three years as a clean magistrate, a hundred thousand silver coins, and all the amenities they deserved. For example, the corruption of the previous governor, Ding Zhenduo, sparked widespread outrage. Since Xiliang's arrival in Yunnan and Guizhou, he has been plundering the region with all his might to train his troops, taking away personnel, gold, silver, food, clothing, and anything else he could possibly need, further impoverishing the already struggling region.

Furthermore, Guizhou suffered heavy losses during this war, and Guiyang suffered even greater losses. Lin Shaonian's practice of incorporating Guiyang residents into the army resulted in numerous casualties. Subsequently, a large number of local armed forces stormed Guiyang, looting and burning hundreds of houses, leaving thousands homeless and refugee. This massive mess was left to the comrades of the Forward Party to clean up. In particular, the local armed forces, in turn, saw others looting and joined in the robbery, resulting in the looting of numerous businesses. Had Li Laohu not issued the order to suppress the rebellion promptly and swiftly captured the Governor's Office, and had Li Laohu and his men not brought a large number of men with them, the situation would have been suppressed only briefly before it spiraled out of control. Otherwise, the entire Guiyang would have been reduced to ruins.

Therefore, after this incident, the military added a lot of rules. One of them was that these temporary armed forces should either be reorganized before being used, or not be used at all. They could only be used if they were deliberately trying to create such chaos.

Just as Li Laohu and his soldiers continued to advance towards Yunnan, the army attacking Yunnan from Sichuan had already completed all preparations.

Yunnan's geographical advantages, with its numerous mountainous regions and crisscrossing ravines, made transportation extremely difficult. Xiliang, however, was able to take advantage of the situation, seizing the opportunity at the right time and in the right place. Furthermore, the PLA's newly produced heavy equipment was difficult to transport in the Yunnan-Guizhou region, severely weakening its combat effectiveness. Further complicating matters was Yunnan's diverse ethnic groups and the complex interplay of various local forces. In particular, many local chieftains and landlords were extremely hostile to the Progressive Party and the PLA, completely demonizing them.

In fact, the warlords of the past were able to dominate the history of the Republic of China by relying on a poor and weak Yunnan. There was a reason for this. The geographical advantage was too great. If those chieftains and landlords were to engage in guerrilla warfare in places like Yunnan, the People's Liberation Army would really find it very troublesome.

The PLA's prospects for entering Yunnan to fight were indeed not optimistic, which is why Zhang Yinghao had to march his troops all the way from Guizhou to liberate Guizhou first. After all, liberating Guizhou would put Yunnan in a vulnerable position, and a direct attack on Yunnan's hinterland from Guizhou would be too simple. After all, no one could deploy a large number of troops between Yunnan and Guizhou in advance, right? If they knew, they would be prophetic.

At the Chengdu Military Commission, Zhang Yinghao's voice was heard: "...Our march into Yunnan is very difficult. However, although Yunnan is located in the borderland and inland, and although transportation is inconvenient and information is blocked, Yunnan is a treasure land with rich natural resources. We must now seize these resources.

Moreover, Yunnan, with its rich natural resources, has long been coveted by the great powers. If we don't want it, the enemy will take it. Britain and France successively annexed Burma and Vietnam, turning them into their colonies. Using these as springboards, they extended their claws of aggression into Yunnan, frequently infiltrating the country from the west and south. Faced with the invasion and plunder of British and French imperialism, as well as the corrupt and incompetent Qing government, unprecedentedly fierce ethnic and class contradictions intertwined and interacted, sparking a strong anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle among the people of Yunnan. Under the oppression of corrupt officials and foreign aggression, the people of Yunnan will spontaneously awaken their nationalism and state consciousness. The people here are extremely easy to agitate, and this is where we have great potential!"

After Zhang Yinghao finished speaking, he turned directly to Chen Linong and asked, "Comrade Linong, you have been arranging party members to join forces in various places and making plans across the country to seize the leadership and control of those uprising forces. How is the plan going in Yunnan now?"

"Chairman, if I were to say which regions have developed the most powerful forces, I think it would be Yunnan and Guangxi. As the Chairman said, in the face of people's war and people's revolution, the more difficult a place is, the easier it is for our Forward Party to take root and sprout. In particular, the anti-British and anti-Qing struggles led by Dao Anren in western Yunnan and the anti-French struggles led by Liu Yongfu, with their surging and fierce momentum, pushed the people of all ethnic groups in Yunnan to continuously awaken to the urgent need to "strengthen the foundation of the country internally and defend against powerful enemies externally." This promoted the vigorous development of Yunnan's anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggles, formed a broad multi-ethnic mass base, and created favorable conditions for our liberation of Yunnan."

"Oh, then tell the comrades in detail."

"Okay. As the Chairman said before, after the Sino-French War, the foreign powers forced the Qing government to open trade in Yunnan, signing unequal treaties such as the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway Charter, the Seven Prefectures Mineral Exploitation Rights, and the Western Yunnan Boundary Demarcation. Since then, the Yunnan people have never stopped resisting the foreign powers. In 1899, Yang Ziyuan gathered a crowd to attack Mengzi City at night, driving out the French who were surveying the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway route; in 1903, Zhou Yongxiang led the Gejiu tin mine workers in an uprising..."

When the comrades heard the year 1903, they interrupted Chen Linong and asked, "This happened last year! So how is Zhou Yongxiang doing now?"

Hearing this question, Chen Linong sighed and said, "Alas, comrades, this is another blood debt owed by the Qing Dynasty. Zhou Yunxiang was from Jianshui, Honghe, Yunnan, and was the leader of the Honghe Gejiu tin mine workers' uprising. France and the Qing government signed the Sino-French Railway Regulations two years ago, allowing France to build the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, forcibly expropriating land from Honghe farmers along the route, and forcing the people of Honghe counties along the way to build the railway. The Qing government then allowed Britain and France to develop the mineral deposits in seven prefectures of Yunnan, including the Honghe Gejiu tin mine in Lin'an Prefecture, which aroused the anger of the local people."

At this point, Chen Linong sighed again and said, "Last May, miner Zhou Yunxiang led the tin miners in Gejiu in an uprising. The rebels raised slogans like 'Stop the foreign occupation of the factory,' 'Reject foreign road construction,' 'Officials forcing the people to rebel,' and 'Eliminate violence and protect the people.' Farmers from all over responded, and the uprising quickly grew to tens of thousands of people. The center of the uprising shifted from the mines to Lin'an Prefecture, and its impact spread to vast areas of southern and central Yunnan. Our comrades immediately joined the uprising, expanding their influence and defeating the Qing army's encirclement and suppression efforts on many occasions."

"Then what?"

After the uprising broke out, the Qing court assigned Yunnan Magistrate Liu Chunlin to command the "Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Corps." He led General Liu Shuyuan, Deputy General Xie Fengsheng, three battalions, General Ma Zhu, and Wei Jingtong, the Linkai-Guang military governor, among others, totaling over 10,000 soldiers. Assisted by local militias from across southeastern Yunnan, they launched a large-scale campaign against Zhou Yunxiang's rebels. Facing an enemy several times their size, the rebels remained undaunted and fought tenaciously for dozens of days.

The most hateful thing was that the Qing soldiers were besieging and burning wantonly, creating a large number of refugees for Zhou Yunxiang to provide relief. Seeing that a direct attack would not work, Liu Chunlin immediately sent Wang Zhengya and others to recruit Zhou Yunxiang, and secretly bribed Zhou's general Deng Yunguang, and talked to his mother, Mrs. Xiong, and persuaded her by explaining the pros and cons; Mrs. Xiong then talked to Zhou Yunxiang. Zhou Yunxiang has always been famous for his filial piety. Under the persuasion of his mother, he agreed to surrender on the condition that the Qing army promised to guarantee the safety of the rebel soldiers. Our comrades could not persuade him, and finally the ambushed Qing army killed Zhou Yunxiang, and the rebel army was also bloody massacred by the Qing army, and the uprising failed. Our comrades had not joined the rebel army for long, and had not received any orders for an armed uprising, so they were forced to go underground again. "

"What a shame. What a shame."

"yes."

Zhang Yinghao listened without frowning and asked directly: "I remember that last year, all the rebel powers across the country participated in the encirclement and suppression. So, are the French here in Zhou Yunxiang also involved?"

"They did, and that's exactly what I'm going to talk about next. The French colonists also took active action to suppress the uprising. When the rebels attacked Mengzi, the French consul in Mengzi provided over a thousand muskets to the Qing troops defending Mengzi. The French also sent 3,000 French and Vietnamese troops from Vietnam to Yunnan to 'assist' the suppression,' ostensibly to protect the safety of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway construction team, including railway personnel, craftsmen, and missionaries."

Zhang Yinghao listened and said: "Comrades, you have heard that Yunnan can mobilize tens of thousands of Qing troops. These are not the key points. The key point is that when we liberate Yunnan, we may need to face the British and French colonial armies. These imperialists can also send tens of thousands of troops into Yunnan. This is the real issue we need to consider. If we face the imperialists, should we fight them?"

Upon hearing Zhang Yinghao's question, a comrade immediately replied: "Of course we have to fight them."

"Fight, we must fight."

have you

Zhang Yinghao knew that because of Xz's victory, the comrades present at the meeting actually looked down on the imperialist powers, or rather, the comrades simply did not understand the imperialist powers. Of course, China had been bullied for so many years, and if there was an opportunity to have a head-on battle with the powers, the comrades would naturally go and confront the imperialists.

Zhang Yinghao didn't answer, motioning for Chen Linong to continue. Chen Linong coughed and said, "Comrades, in Yunnan, we actually have a basis for waging war against the foreign powers. Not only did the French incite the people to revolt, but the British also occupied a considerable amount of territory. Furthermore, there was a hero who fought against the British, and through the efforts of other comrades, he donated all his property to join us."

When Chen Linong said this, someone who had read the information immediately said, "Dai chieftain Dao Anren?"

"Toast?"

"Is it believable?

When they heard the word "Tusi", many comrades immediately frowned and started talking about it.

Zhang Yinghao smiled and said, "Comrades, the former Derge Tusi, Dorje Sengge, voluntarily surrendered Derge to us for liberation and provided us with great assistance. He even called on the people to aid us during the invasion of Tibet against British imperialism. We can't simply condemn these friends. This is what we mean by the united front. Furthermore, above class interests lie the interests of the nation. I've always said that our Forward Party has no personal interests other than those of the nation and the people. Even class interests must be subordinated to those of the nation and the people. We must acknowledge that some Tusi leaders and landlords are patriotic, and they are the ones we should unite with. While there's no class that betrays its own interests, there are individuals who betray their class and its interests. We don't practice dictatorship, nor do we seek to be egocentric. We must give others opportunities. Furthermore, Dao Anren's birth wasn't determined by his parents. He was born the eldest son of Dao Yingting, the 23rd Tusi and Seal Holder of the Yingjiang Ganya Xuanfu Envoy. He is the legal heir to the Tusi throne of the Qing court. His willingness to donate his property to join us is a powerful gesture, and he demonstrates proletarian consciousness. Comrade Linong, please continue."

Zhang Yinghao had seen the movie "Dao Anren" in his previous life, so he was relatively familiar with this person. Of course, Zhang Yinghao had to bear great political responsibility for saying these things, which was tantamount to endorsing Dao Anren. But Zhang Yinghao didn't care. Dao Anren was a Dai, and he played an irreplaceable role in liberating Yunnan, stabilizing Yunnan's ethnic minorities, and stabilizing the border. Even if problems arose in the future, it wouldn't be a big deal. The struggle would just be over. After the land reform, would we still be afraid of a chieftain rebelling? Even if a friend becomes an enemy tomorrow, the cake that should be shared with him today must still be shared. This is the principle and attitude that Zhang Yinghao believes everyone should have.

After hearing what Zhang Yinghao said, no one said anything. Chen Linong then introduced Dao Anren and his deeds and said: "Dao Anren relied on Daqingshu Camp and persisted in the anti-British struggle for eight years, dealt a heavy blow to the invaders, and defended the territory of the motherland. However, in 1898, Britain once again requested to survey the Yunnan-Myanmar border. The Qing court sent the incompetent official Liu Wansheng as the person in charge of the survey to negotiate with the British. Under the inducement and threat of the British imperialists, Liu Wansheng allowed the foreigners to manipulate him. , and even handed over large tracts of Chinese territory, including Tiebi Pass, Huju Pass, Tianma Pass, and Hanlong Pass, to the British imperialists. They threatened Dao Anren with the extermination of his entire clan and forced him to withdraw his troops, even going so far as to subject him to military court. Dao Anren, concerned for the safety of his family and his subordinates, had no choice but to retreat. The eight years of bloody struggle that Dao Anren and the people of all ethnic groups had fought against the British invaders were destroyed in an instant. At the time, Dao Anren was filled with grief and indignation, and he sighed to the sky, saying, "The common people still know how to defend their land, but the imperial court endures humiliation and seeks glory, sinking into such depravity." Comrades, imagine how it must have felt to have eight years of hard work destroyed in an instant.

After hearing Chen Linong's description and questions, the comrades were also filled with righteous indignation and felt the same way. They all started to curse.

"You really don't feel bad about selling your father's land."

"Liu Wansheng is tolerant and cruel. He sold out the interests of the country for his own personal gain. He is a traitor and deserves to be killed."

"The Qing Dynasty is such a piece of shit."

"There's no point in scolding the Qing. They ceded so much land, and they don't care about such a small amount."

.…".

Whether people of this era or those of his previous life, hearing about these land cessions was met with righteous indignation and deep resentment, far from being callous. This was one of the reasons why Zhang Yinghao, after his recent invasion of Tibet, immediately began plotting the liberation of Yunnan and Guizhou. The British had suffered losses in Tibet and were determined to avenge their losses. Looking around, the best way to do this was to force the Qing to take territory from the Yunnan-Myanmar border. Given the Qing's character, they were bound to lose territory again. Therefore, Zhang Yinghao planned to confront the British again in the Yunnan-Myanmar border region, testing their strength and training the People's Liberation Army. Since the chieftains' armies had been able to defeat the British, Zhang Yinghao had no doubt the People's Liberation Army could not. Furthermore, with the banner of resisting aggression, he would be able to more easily resolve issues such as land reform, rally more allies, and isolate his enemies. After all, the prisoners of Tibet were still in his hands, so there was no need to rush.

After the comrades quieted down, Chen Linong continued, "So Dao Anren was extremely disappointed with the Qing court. After our comrades contacted Dao Anren and explained the situation to him, he resolutely donated most of his family property to the organization, despite the opposition of his father Dao Yingting. He exchanged part of it for gold to purchase firearms and ammunition. Now, in Ganya and other places, hundreds of people from the Dai, Han, and Jingpo ethnic groups have been organized. As long as we receive our orders, they will respond immediately."

The comrades present nodded continuously after hearing this. Zhang Yinghao then said, "All the comrades who have marched into Yunnan know all of this. Let's move on to the next question."

Chapter 333:

At this moment, Zhang Yinghao truly experienced the words in Sun Tzu's "The Art of War: Military Formations": "…In ancient times, those who are skilled in warfare are those who conquer those who are easily conquered." Therefore, the victory of a skilled warrior is not due to fame for wisdom or merit for bravery, so his battles are never wrong. Those who are never wrong are those who are sure to win in every move, and they conquer those who are already defeated. Therefore, a skilled warrior positions himself in an invincible position, without missing a beat to defeat the enemy. Therefore, victorious warriors win first and then seek battle, while defeated warriors fight first and then seek victory. A skilled military commander cultivates the Way and upholds the Law, thus mastering the strategies that determine victory or defeat.

Zhang Yinghao had a deeper understanding of the fact that victory can be known but not achieved. He then quoted a line from Sun Tzu's Art of War and said directly: "This march into Yunnan is just like the line from Sun Tzu's Art of War: The people are the winners of the battle, like the water that is released from a thousand-foot-deep stream, the terrain."

After so much analysis, the comrades nodded in agreement, believing that all the conditions for the PLA's victory already existed there, and the PLA was merely facilitating the maturation and transformation of these conditions.

Zhang Yinghao pointed his finger towards Guangxi, then towards Lianzhou Prefecture in Guangdong, and said, "After we liberate Yunnan and Guizhou, we have another mission: to liberate Guangxi and Lianzhou Prefecture in Guangdong as soon as possible. We must have an outlet to the sea. Relying solely on the Yangtze River is too passive. Comrade Linong, could you also tell me about the current situation in Guangxi?"

Guangxi had no access to the sea in the late Qing Dynasty. All the seaports belonged to Guangdong. It was only after the founding of New China that the Lianzhou area, which belonged to Guangdong in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, was transferred to Guangxi for the development of Guangxi, so that Guangxi also had access to the sea.

"Chairman, the situation in Guangxi is even more complicated. From the year before last until now, a secret society uprising centered around the Tiandihui and primarily comprised of roving bandits has swept across the entire province of Guangxi. Even now, this uprising has yet to be suppressed by the Qing Dynasty."

"I know about the Tiandihui, but what is this Youyong?"

"These 'roving warriors' were formed after the Sino-French War, when the Qing Dynasty reduced its military and cut pay. Many of the disbanded soldiers were left homeless, stole weapons, and fled to join Vietnam's war against the French. They became known as 'roving warriors outside the Great Wall.' As the French consolidated their occupation of Vietnam, these roving warriors found it difficult to operate and were forced to retreat back to Chinese territory. Deeply persecuted and deceived by the Qing, these roving warriors harbored strong anti-Qing ideologies. They joined secret society organizations, forming a branch of the Guangxi Secret Society, and participated in the uprising. The slogans of the Guangxi Secret Society uprising were "Anti-Qing, Restore Ming," "Rob the Rich to Help the Poor," and "Officials forcing the People to Revolt." They placed particular emphasis on killing corrupt officials and the emperor, directing the struggle against the Qing government. The rebels also waged anti-imperialist struggles, frequently attacking French troops and battling French missionaries while operating on the Sino-Vietnamese border."

Zhang Yinghao said directly: "We say that history is created by the people. The uprising in Guangxi lasted for such a long time, which must have won the support of the people."

"The Chairman is right. Two years ago, plague ravaged Shangsi, Guixian, and other places in Guangxi, killing large numbers of pigs, cattle, and poultry, as well as many villagers. Last year, a severe famine struck Guangxi, killing 70,000 to 80,000 people. Cholera broke out in Yongning, Xinning, and other counties in Nanning Prefecture, as well as plague in the Zuojiang and Youjiang regions. Furthermore, the influx of foreign goods into Guangxi has led to the disintegration of the natural economy, resulting in widespread unemployment. Coupled with years of famine and increased taxes, the people are desperately trying to make ends meet, and are flocking to join secret societies."

The Guangxi secret societies, primarily the Heaven and Earth Society, the Three Point Society, and the Triads, had been constantly launching uprisings against Qing rule. While previous uprisings had failed, the people's struggle persisted, fueling the uprisings of the secret societies in Guangxi. Just as in Mao Zedong, the people suffered under slavery, yet every household was required to send someone to become a monk, who in turn served as the guardians of slavery. Consequently, the secret societies in Guangxi have flourished tremendously, becoming a place where their influence is deeply entrenched.

"Tell me about the current situation in Guangxi."

Chen Linong pointed at a map and said, "According to our current data, the year before last, under the leadership of Lu Yafa, leader of the Gelaohui, the peasants of Guangxi raised the slogan 'Rob the rich to help the poor.' Dong San revolted in Shangsi, Qin Laofa in Yongning, and another 50,000 to 60,000 men revolted in the Zuojiang area. The rebellion spread throughout southern and western Guangxi, occupying over 20 towns. If these uprisings of the year before last were minor, then last year's uprising, launched by a group of mutinous Qing soldiers in conjunction with the secret society, immediately turned Guangxi into a raging fire."

Comrades followed Chen Linong's finger and roughly saw the area of ​​the uprising. Then they heard him continue: "The uprising army captured Wuming, Shanglin, Nandan, Donglan and Liuzhou, and approached the provincial capital Guilin. In the first half of this year, the uprising army continued to grow, its influence spread throughout the province and expanded to the border of Hunan and Guizhou. It controlled large areas such as Qingyuan, Nanning, Wuzhou, Si'en, Liuzhou, Xunzhou, and formed two centers in Nanning and Liuzhou. In July, after the uprising army captured Liuzhou, it divided its troops into three routes: one route went northeast across Guilin and went straight to Zhaozhou, Guangdong. Qing; one route from the northwest passes through Rongxian and Luocheng to attack Hunan and Guizhou; the other route from the southwest passes through Qingyuan and Ensi to attack Qianjiang and Shanglin. The Qing government has now mobilized troops from seven provinces, including Guangdong, Hunan, Yunnan, and Guizhou, as well as the Jiangnan New Army, totaling over 100,000 men, to "jointly suppress" the rebels in Guangxi, besieging the rebels from all sides. Yunnan and Guizhou have both been siphoned off a large number of Qing troops. Even the over 10,000 regular troops from Yunnan that suppressed Zhou Yunxiang's uprising were siphoned off by the Qing. This is one of the reasons why our attack on Guizhou was so easy this time."

Zhang Yinghao listened and chuckled faintly, saying, "Haha, it seems we've taken advantage of these secret societies. We didn't expect them to cause such a big stir. Comrades, what do you think of these secret societies in Guangxi?"

"Chairman, the secret societies in Guangxi are so powerful right now. Should we consider changing the way we handle secret societies? Simply banning them will inevitably cause public outrage."

Zhang Yinghao listened and said calmly: "So, comrades, how do you think we should deal with these secret societies? We need to come up with a charter!"

When Zhang Yinghao asked this, everyone looked at each other, no one willing to answer for a moment. Zhang Yinghao's questions had a characteristic: whoever answered first would usually give the wrong answer. Although Zhang Yinghao wouldn't pursue the matter, the comrades still didn't want to lose face.

Seeing the expressions on his comrades' faces, Zhang Yinghao said directly, "We've already discussed how to analyze the success or failure of an organization. Applying our three magic weapons will make it clear with a simple analysis. What are our three magic weapons? Do you still remember them?"

"Armed struggle." "United front." "Party building."

Whether it was a company, a factory, or any other organization, the strength of any organization and its bright future could be determined with a simple analysis using the three magic weapons. With secret societies, Zhang Yinghao didn't even need to delve into them; he understood their rise and fall better than their leaders. It was incredibly simple.

"Since all comrades know this, they should not be fooled by the powerful appearance of the secret societies. Let's not talk about armed struggle. If an army does not take the initiative to learn and has no culture, how can it fire cannons well? Can it understand strategies and tactics? It is still a feudal army. The secret societies' united front also has huge problems. At least I don't know whether they have contacted us or not, but I know that these secret societies must know how we deal with secret societies in Sichuan. However, just because we ban secret societies, will they not come to unite with us to fight against the Qing Dynasty? This is a huge problem. The secret societies have not yet figured out who are our friends and who are our enemies, the primary issue of the revolution. Of course, there must be some secret societies that think we are their main enemies.

Some comrades will undoubtedly wonder, since opposing the Qing Dynasty is our primary concern, why shouldn't we ban secret societies? Those who ask this question have a flawed perspective, not understanding what the people's revolution is, and not understanding that these secret societies are also enemies of the people's revolution. Since we have already overthrown Qing rule in the Sichuan-Shaanxi region, the contradictions have naturally shifted. Secret societies are no longer the objects of our unity; on the contrary, they are the targets of our attack. However, outside the liberated areas, secret societies remain the objects of our unity.

Many comrades will be confused. Isn't this going back on one's word? Comrades, this is the attitude of seeking truth from facts, this is the attitude of struggle. Today, I will teach you another method of doing things: combining principle with flexibility. What are matters of principle? They are our Party's organizational principles and discipline. We do everything for the people and rely on the people. We must implement land reform nationwide. These are our matters of principle. What is flexibility? It is the method of analyzing specific issues in specific ways. Since we entered Tibet, we have still not carried out land reform or land ownership reform, and ethnic minorities are not in a hurry to do so. Our different attitudes toward the Communist Party, and toward chieftains and landlords, both inside and outside the liberated areas, are all examples of flexibility in handling issues. We will handle them in whatever way is most conducive to solving the problem.

As for party building, the secret societies were even more disastrous, and this was the fundamental reason for their inevitable failure. The scale and influence of this Guangxi secret society uprising cannot be compared to previous uprisings in history. How can this be seen? Because all large-scale and influential uprisings in history have had a single core, a single leadership group. This was true from Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Although the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom used the religious guise of the God Worshipping Society, at least they had a leadership group. But what about the Guangxi rebels? They were internally disorganized, with more than a dozen leaders and no coordinated actions. Moreover, they had no concept of base construction and followed the nomadic fighting style of Li Zicheng's old peasant uprisings. Ultimately, they were defeated piecemeal by the Qing Dynasty, and the uprising was doomed to failure.

After listening to Zhang Yinghao's story, many comrades felt their faces flushed. Zhang Yinghao smiled faintly and continued, "So if the Guangxi secret society uprising wants to succeed, there are still two steps to go. The first step is to kill and devour each other, compete for the strongest force, and form a core of the uprising army. The second step is to complete the construction and transformation of a modern political party. Secret societies will never succeed. This is one of the reasons why Zhu Yuanzhang abandoned the Mingjiao. Or there may be a strong man like Zhu Yuanzhang or Li Zicheng in the rebel army. After integrating the entire Guangxi secret society, instead of establishing a political party, he will establish a feudal court and change dynasties as traditionally. This may also achieve a revolution, but I personally am not optimistic about this. Comrades, do you have any questions about this?"

"Chairman, perhaps these secret societies can't accomplish anything. But if we send troops to liberate Guangxi, we still have to deal with them. We can't just tell them to ban their armed forces and then ban them, right? They are anti-Qing insurgents after all. We can't just fight them and do something that would hurt our loved ones and please our enemies, right?"

"That's a great question! First of all, we must understand that secret societies are self-protection organizations or groups formed for profit due to the oppression of rulers. Just like the gangs of Huang Sande and Situ Meitang who visited us before, they all came into being to unite and resist oppression and protect their own interests. These triads, three-point societies, and so on are all special products of special times. They are secret societies, we are political parties, it's just an identity. Ultimately, we are all Chinese, part of the Chinese nation. We cannot deny the patriots among them, nor can we deny that they want a better life.

Therefore, when we liberate Guangxi, we will continue with the same "you fight yours, I fight mine" approach, employing the principle of unity-struggle-unity. As long as these secret societies refrain from attacking us violently, we will temporarily unite with them. Secret societies may have their own progressive aspects in their anti-Qing struggles, but they are ultimately counter-revolutionaries. The most powerful weapon we revolutionaries have against secret societies is land reform, working alongside the people to create a better life. As long as we unwaveringly complete land reform in Guangxi, 80 to 90 percent of the secret society members will automatically return to their hometowns to redistribute the land, effectively dismantling the secret society from within.

As for the leaders of these secret societies, we can acknowledge the justice of their resistance to the Qing Dynasty and their status as rebels, and the People's Liberation Army will reorganize their armed forces. If they refuse to acknowledge their status as rebels and continue to engage in armed resistance, then we will resolutely eliminate them. This is struggle. Our principles for banning secret societies remain unchanged, and the work of banning them cannot stop. However, we can handle it flexibly, temporarily withholding publicity until we have won the hearts and minds of the people of Guangxi through our work. Then, we can publicly ban the secret societies. This is an approach that combines principle with flexibility."

After listening to Zhang Yinghao's words, the comrades present at the meeting, having gained a lot of practical work experience, immediately knew what to do. In fact, Zhang Yinghao really didn't take these secret society members seriously. The Guangxi uprising looked lively and exciting, but in fact, the secret society rebellions were very effective in the early stages. However, once the development situation improved slightly, their internal struggles became more intense than the external struggles. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's decline began with the Tianjing Incident, or the decline of countless forces was caused by internal struggles. Even the demise of the Qin Dynasty began with internal chaos.

"Is there anything else you would like to add from Guangxi?"

"Chairman, in addition to the comrades who have joined the rebel army in Guangxi, we have also received help and promises from a famous figure in the Sino-French War and the Taiwan Anti-Japanese War. As long as our troops enter Guangxi, they will respond to us."

"A famous figure in the Sino-French War and in the fight against the Japanese in Taiwan? Could it be Liu Yongfu of the Black Flag Army?"

Hearing Zhang Yinghao's guess, Chen Linong was stunned. After a long pause, he said, "How did the Chairman know?"

"Haha, keep talking."

Zhang Yinghao was naturally well-known for Liu Yongfu, whose Black Flag Army was also quite famous. In the previous life, the late Qing Dynasty had only won one and a half foreign conflicts. One of those victories was during Yuan Shikai's time in Korea. Facing the relentless pressure from the Japanese, he decisively resolved the internal rebellion in Korea, stabilizing the situation there and delaying the Japanese invasion.

In the other half, Feng Zicai led the great victory at Zhennan Pass. Guangxi was saved, but Annan was lost, a defeat despite not having been defeated. Zhang Yinghao had specifically researched the history of this period and naturally had a deep impression of Liu Yongfu, a unique figure. However, this was also one of the reasons why Zhang Yinghao had to express his admiration for the Qing Dynasty and why he believed that the Qing imperial family was the ruling class of China's ruling class. Many anti-Qing figures like Liu Yongfu were ultimately recruited and given important positions by the Qing Dynasty, who also promoted these anti-Manchus to higher positions. In this respect, one cannot help but admire the true prowess of the Qing Dynasty's ruling methods.

Chen Linong briefly recounted Liu Yongfu's life, saying, "Liu Yongfu himself was born into poverty and rose to prominence by joining the Tiandihui to fight against the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, he sympathized with the peasant uprisings. After our Sichuan Revolution, he also paid close attention. In particular, he increasingly absorbed revolutionary ideas in Guangdong, gaining a deeper understanding. He went from sympathizing with and supporting the revolution to actively participating in it. Our comrades, upon contacting him, immediately gained his support. He even sent someone to mobilize Wu Fengdian, a former commander of the Black Flag Army, to organize the Zhuang Han soldiers from the Qinlian and Zuojiang areas to join the revolution and fight alongside us..."

With the previous talent reserve management committee and the personnel deployed, Zhang Yinghao no longer needs to worry about these things.

After the meeting, Zhang Yinghao turned around and gave his orders: "Send a telegram to Comrade Zhang Jianping. This march into Yunnan must be a swift and decisive one. The unification of the southwest must not be reversed. The Sichuan-Yunnan decisive battle is irreversible. I hope your troops will overcome the difficulties and make new achievements..."

Zhang Jianping was transferred to be the commander-in-chief of this march into Yunnan. After receiving the telegram, he read out the contents of the telegram on the spot at the temporary command post. Most of the PLA generals in Xuzhou gathered here. In fact, everyone had already been prepared in their hearts. When they heard that the attack on Yunnan was about to begin, everyone was eager to fight and was extremely excited.

The army is only in two states: at war and preparing for war. Zhang Jianping was naturally happy to see that his comrades were not afraid of fighting.

"Comrades, this time we will liberate Yunnan from three directions. The Western Route Army is not under our command. They entered the mountainous area of ​​northwest Yunnan from the Sichuan-Tibet region, passing through Lijiang along the ancient Tea Horse Road. This is a place where many ethnic groups coexist, and the Qing Dynasty's control is not strong. After the People's Liberation Army enters, we must contain the Qing army while appeasing local forces to prevent the local chieftains from turning to the Qing Dynasty.

However, I don't think this wishful thinking will be easy to realize. After all, the chieftains and landlords in those places are not so obedient. I think they will face many difficulties on their way!

The Eastern Route Army is mainly composed of the troops liberated from Guizhou, and together with a division temporarily reorganized in Guizhou, it has a total of 34,000 people. They will march from Guiyang and mainly attack Fuyuan, Qujing, and then Kunming..."

Dao Anren and Liu Yongfu

In the 11th year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1872), Dao Anren was born. He was the eldest son of Dao Yingting, the 23rd Xuanfu envoy of Dehong Ganya. He was called "Hunxiang", which means "Prince of Gem" in Dai language. He was the legal heir to the chieftain. He was also known as Xie Anren, with the courtesy name Peisheng (Peisheng).

When Dao Anren was a teenager, his father attached great importance to his education. He arranged for Dao Luomeng, a Dai private school teacher, and Jiang Gui, a Bai teacher who was knowledgeable about the past and present, to educate Dao Anren, so that he could be well-educated and learn scientific and cultural knowledge. During this period, Mangdala Jiangkuo, the eldest grandson of the King of Burma, retreated to Dao Anren's home in Ganya, Yingjiang for refuge because his country was occupied by the British colonial army and his family was ruined and his resistance was frustrated. During his contact with Dao Anren and a conversation about the process of Myanmar being reduced to a colony, the young Dao Anren understood that a backward country will be bullied and that every citizen is responsible for the rise and fall of a country, thus establishing a strong patriotic idea in him.

In the 11th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1885), Mangdala Jiangkuo, the eldest grandson of the King of Burma, retreated to Dao Anren's home in Ganya, Yingjiang for refuge after his resistance was defeated when Myanmar was occupied by the British colonial army. After talking with Dao Anren about how Myanmar became a colony, Dao Anren developed a strong sense of patriotism.

In the 17th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1891), Dao Anren inherited the chieftain position and became the 24th Xuanfu envoy of Ganya. British imperialism, seeking to expand its colonial empire, invaded the Tiebiguan area of ​​Ganya. As chieftain, Dao Anren quickly mobilized four to five hundred chieftain soldiers and set up camp at Dashuying in Tiebiguan. He rallied the local Dai, Han, Jingpo, Lisu, Achang, De'ang, and other ethnic groups to form a united front of mutual support. Employing jungle tactics such as "broad day signal" and "seven-mile bee nest defense," he defeated the British invasion, thwarting British imperialism's ambition to encroach on Chinese territory and safeguarding the motherland.

In the 19th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1893), British colonialists, realizing that force was ineffective, secretly moved the Hanlong Pass boundary marker into Chinese territory under the pretext of boundary demarcation, attempting to "legally" seize Chinese territory. Dao Anren, accompanied by his father Dao Yingting, traveled over 300 miles to verify the location of Hanlong Pass directly south of Mengmao, providing strong evidence for the Sino-British Supplementary Agreement on Commercial Terms Relating to the Yunnan-Burma Boundary.

In 1898, the 24th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, Britain again requested a joint survey of the Yunnan-Burma border. The Qing government's commissioner for the survey, Liu Wansheng, was incompetent and "greedy, accepting bribes, and selling out territory" (known as "Liu the Seller"). He acquiesced to British officials, resulting in the loss of large tracts of territory in Ganya, Longchuan, and Mengmao, including the Daqingshuyingpan area at Tiebiguan, where Dao Anren had stationed troops. After the border was demarcated, Liu Wansheng forced Dao Anren to withdraw his troops from Daqingshuyingpan.

In the 25th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1899), in order to "express his hatred for the insatiable imperialism and his dissatisfaction with the incompetent Qing government", Dao Anren wrote the narrative poem "Anti-British Record" in Dai language with grief and indignation.

National hero Liu Yongfu

Liu Yongfu (1837-1917) was a military strategist and national hero in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. He was a native of Xiaofeng Township, Gusendong, Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Guangdong (now in Guangxi). Also known as Yi and with the courtesy name Yuanting, he moved with his parents to Shangsi, Guangxi, to work as a farmer at a young age.

In the second year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign (1852), he worked as a boatman on the Zuojiang River. In his spare time, he learned boxing and martial arts from his father and uncle. Soon after, his parents died, and he made a living by collecting firewood and fishing.

In 1857, the Taiping Rebellion ignited anti-Qing uprisings in Guangdong and Guangxi. Seeking survival, Liu Yongfu and his brother joined the rebels led by Zheng San, a native of Qinzhou. Soon after, Li Baoge died, and all of Liu Yongfu's immediate family passed away. Liu Yongfu spent three years with Zheng San's army, but he saw no direct contact with the Qing troops. Instead, he was severely wounded in a clash with Wu Biling's rebels, nearly losing his life.

In 1860, Liu Yongfu defected to the peasant army leader Wu Er, but due to poor treatment, he defected to Wang Shilin and stayed under Wang Shilin for five years.