The Heroic Age of the Late Qing Dynasty

Anyone who witnessed the power of such a salvo would become more reliant on and value heavy firepower. Zhang Yinghao couldn't be wrong about this change; after all, using human lives to solve a problem that could be solved with artillery shells was foolish. Of course, the troops quickly realized this problem and reiterated the principle of using weapons to fight the right battles. They also emphasized the importance of conserving ammunition while promoting firepower. That's money, and China was incredibly poor. Construction required vast amounts of manpower and resources, leaving no room for extravagance.

After firing just one round of artillery shells, Li Lao Hu immediately ordered a halt to the shooting. If too many British and French soldiers were killed, there would be no point in surrendering. Just as Li Lao Hu was about to call for the British and French to surrender again, he did not expect that after the smoke and dust cleared, a white flag was hoisted on the top of the mountain.

Li Lao Hu saw the white flag and said calmly, "The Chairman has always said that war ultimately comes down to industrial capacity. Now I understand. Just a hundred artillery shells fired simultaneously, and the power was so astonishing that the enemy surrendered immediately!"

In this single battle, the Qing army was routed. The PLA's superior firepower and manpower inflicted heavy casualties on the 20,000-plus troops led by Xiliang. The PLA captured over 18,000 Qing prisoners and over 3,000 British and French troops. The captured guns and ammunition were enough for the PLA to conduct a small-scale campaign. Among the prisoners were numerous local chieftains, landlords, and other armed forces, whose backbones were shattered by the PLA, rendering them unable to mount any major offensive. This was followed by a massive armed parade of tens of thousands of PLA troops in Kunming.

By this time, everyone understood that this battle had reached its final stage. With the example of Guiyang as a precedent, the few local armed forces gathered in Kunming were reorganized before these newly formed troops were deployed to support the PLA's assault on Kunming.

Because Xiliang had taken most of the artillery and troops, Kunming was now essentially an undefended city. A series of persuasion, division, and other tactics followed. The PLA laid siege on three sides, breaching the city walls in just ten minutes and liberating Kunming in half a day.

After capturing Kunming, the troops, led by local comrades, dispersed, gathering up the defeated soldiers, confiscating their weapons, and cracking down on bandits and bullies. If these matters were not dealt with quickly, these defeated soldiers would have dispersed to various places and become bandits. Now that the Forward Party had reached Yunnan, they were almost all aware of their actions in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Xizang. Now that the Qing army had no deterrent, many local chieftains were ready to act again. In addition, there were refugees everywhere. These issues were intertwined, and the People's Liberation Army had to deal with them.

As the two armies advanced, they all felt Yunnan was now a desolate and filthy place. The people were poor and backward, and opium and drugs were rampant. Kunming was shrouded in the numbness of opium. The air still lingered with the lingering smell of opium smoke, wafting from the dilapidated houses that were not properly closed. The opium epidemic was widespread, and the large number of addicts was a headache for the PLA soldiers.

The situation was dire, plagued by internal and external troubles. Domestically, people's livelihoods were destitute, and local tyrants were powerful. Externally, despite being located on the frontier, there was no defense, and Britain and France were frequently encroaching on border territories. The main conflict at this time was still the British and French invasion of Yunnan. Furthermore, the People's Liberation Army had just entered Yunnan and its foothold was unstable, so the focus was simply on maintaining local stability, and no drastic measures were taken.

The Eastern and Central Armies successfully liberated Kunming, while the Western Army, following the Ancient Tea Horse Road, set out from Batang, marching through Lijiang and on to Dali. After receiving a telegram announcing the main force's arrival in Kunming, the Western Army discontinued the route and continued on to Pu'er and then Xishuangbanna, completing the entire route.

When the Western Route Army entered Yunnan, they mostly passed through areas inhabited by ethnic minorities. These ethnic minorities did not trust the People's Liberation Army and the Forward Party. Their main task along the way was to publicize our party's policies and propositions on how to treat the people in these areas. They adopted a united front strategy and promoted the idea that the People's Liberation Army was going to the border areas to resist the invasion of British and French imperialism.

Many people in these areas knew about the Forward Party's land reform in Sichuan, and they were very resistant to the PLA entering their territory. Furthermore, once the Forward Party and the PLA entered these areas, they had no intention of leaving. After liberating Zhongdian, Shangri-La, and Deqin, they stationed troops there to carry out local work.

These stationed troops not only had to maintain local law and order but also continuously advance toward Burma to determine the extent of British infiltration. These efforts necessitated interaction with the local indigenous people. At this time, the Sino-Burmese border was riddled with undetermined boundaries and territories, a legacy of the Qing-Myanmar War and the tributary system. The Qing conquered lands, granted to local chieftains for governance, and then withdrew from their territorial jurisdiction. Following the invasion of Western powers, and especially after recognizing the independence of Burma, Vietnam, and other countries, border and territorial disputes were inevitable. The Qing, weakened, naturally found itself on the defensive in negotiations, completely disregarding the concerns of the local people and historical facts. Vast tracts of land were unknowingly abandoned by incompetent Qing officials. These were issues that the Forward Party must address.

At this time, the Forward Party and the People's Liberation Army already had a lot of experience in working with these remote ethnic groups. Almost every member of the advancing troops had a copy of the "Liberation Manual". It was precisely because of this manual that the People's Liberation Army had so many qualified soldiers able to enter the ethnic minority areas to fight and work. At this time, when a battalion of troops stopped to rest, Battalion Commander Chen Songlin immediately asked the soldiers to take out the "Liberation Manual" to read and recite.

Chen Songlin, a quintessential city dweller, had lived in Chengdu for generations. From his birth until this march, he had never set foot in such a remote and underdeveloped region. Without the "Liberation Handbook," he knew the march would have been far from smooth, as he was completely unfamiliar with the area and essentially helpless. When he first received the handbook, he was baffled, unable to comprehend much of it. But after the march and repeated readings, he finally understood the Party's thoughtful intentions in compiling it. After Chen Songlin finished arranging his work, he immediately took out the handbook and began to read it aloud.

"Article 1: Apply Marxism and the correct viewpoints of Zhang Yinghao's thought to handle my country's ethnic and religious issues, proceed from the fundamental interests of the people of all ethnic groups, eliminate exploitation and oppression, and realize the equality of political rights for all ethnic groups.

Article 2: Politically, we must adopt an extremely cautious attitude and advance steadily. Without mass support, without the people's armed forces, and without the ethnic minorities' own cadres, we must not carry out any mass reform work, such as land reform and anti-bullying efforts.

Article 3: Social reform in ethnic minority areas is a major undertaking and must be approached with caution. Under no circumstances should we be impatient, as impatience can lead to problems. Reforms cannot be undertaken if conditions are not ripe. Even if one condition is ripe but others are not, major reforms should not be undertaken...."

With this manual, we can practically teach our comrades how to conduct their work in remote ethnic minority areas. Chen Songlin already knew that these frontier regions were extremely economically and politically backward, many still lingering in the slave era. Furthermore, the mountains were high, the roads were long, the waters were deep, there were no bridges, and there were no roads at all. Many chieftains here had never left the areas they ruled. While many tribes no longer engaged in cannibalism, they still practiced beheading and offering sacrifices. PLA soldiers were required to respect these ethnic traditions and temporarily turn a blind eye.

Faced with such a desolate region, the PLA once again adopted the discipline and practices of the troops entering Tibet, strictly implementing the central government's directives. As long as the inhabitants of these areas did not attack the PLA with lethal weapons, the PLA would not fight back or retaliate, adhering to the principle of "if no one offends me, I will not offend them." Of course, if someone offends me, I will certainly fight back. If these ethnic groups dared to use lethal weapons, the PLA would naturally retaliate resolutely. However, any prisoners captured would be immediately released after being educated, and they would convey that the PLA had absolutely no ill intentions. Generally, the situation could be resolved.

"Article 8: Equal treatment of ethnic minorities is essential, and unity must be strengthened. The political basis of this unity is unity against foreign aggression and resistance to imperialist aggression..."

While Chen Songlin was reading the Liberation Manual, a scout suddenly ran over and said, "Report, Battalion Commander, there are Lisu people blocking our way ahead."

Chen Songlin immediately put away the book and shouted, "Everyone, be on alert."

Upon hearing the order, the PLA soldiers immediately dropped their work, drew their guns, and quickly prepared for battle. Chen Songlin then said, "Everyone, stay where you are. Let's go and take a look."

Led by the scouts, Chen Songlin quickly reached the Lisu tribe's location, where they were blocking the road. He saw three people with painted faces and feathers in their hair blocking the PLA troops. Chen Songlin immediately approached them, and his translator, Yu Haibo, said directly, "Their leader wants you, Battalion Commander, to accompany them up the mountain."

Chapter 338:

The translator, Yu Haibo, was a Lisu, and had also joined the People's Liberation Army. The PLA had brought a number of translators with them on their march into Yunnan, most of whom were PLA soldiers recruited by the Progressive Party from places like Batang. Now that the Ancient Tea Horse Road had reopened, and with the construction corps constantly working on the road, the bustle of the route had reached a new level.

Tea and other supplies from Yunnan were once again continuously transported to Tibet.

Batang has now become an important transit point. Some of the gangs from Yunchan directly enter the Tibetan area along the ancient Tea Horse Road, and many people come to Batang to sell their goods. The new government has set up several wholesale markets in Batang, and many Tibetans drive their cattle and sheep here to sell, and then sell them here.

Buy what you need in the trade market, and then transport it to the XL country to sell. After the porters and caravans sell their goods, they can also buy Sichuan's industrial

The specialties from Tibet and other places are shipped back to Yunnan and other places, making a lot of money through two-way trade.

While the PLA could have hired these porters and horsemen, the number of personnel needed was too great. Furthermore, this advance required personnel who knew the local languages ​​and carried out important tasks, so they had to be trained. Unable to trust those who were not their own comrades, and also to save costs, the PLA ultimately decided to recruit a large number of PLA soldiers from among these porters and horsemen, mobilizing them to serve as soldiers. This ultimately resulted in the recruitment of not only a number of male soldiers, but also a significant number of women.

After hearing what Comrade Yu Haibo said, Chen Songlin frowned and said directly to the translator: "Excuse me, what's the matter with meeting their leader?"

Yu Haibo said directly: "I asked, and they said that if you don't go, they won't let us pass through their tribe."

Chen Songlin wanted to sneer and say that these people really overestimated their abilities, but he held back. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Comrade Haibo, I might need you to go with me. I wonder if you are willing."

Yu Haibo is a PLA soldier. Logically, Chen Songlin could have directly ordered him to follow him up the mountain, but going up the mountain might be dangerous after all, so Chen Songlin asked Yu Haibo for his opinion.

Yu Haibo replied simply, "No problem."

Chen Songlin thought for a moment and said to the scout who had just informed him, "Go back and tell the deputy battalion commander and the instructor that I followed these Lisu people up the mountain."

After saying this, Chen Songlin thought for a moment. To avoid misunderstandings, he left his rifle behind, only bringing a pistol. He and Yu Haibo followed the Lisu people calmly to the negotiation site. They had originally planned to hold a simple Party Committee meeting, but fearing misunderstandings among the Lisu people, Chen Songlin decided to go alone.

"What's the name of their leader?" (Translation omitted) "Hu A Pu."

Chen Songlin knew that the Lisu people have 18 surnames, including Tiger, Bear, Sheep (Yang), Bird, Fish, Rat (Chu), Red, Bee, Buckwheat (Qiao), Grain, Bamboo, Vegetables (Cai), Hemp, Plow (Li), Deer, Monkey (Hou), and Sea. These surnames reflect the Lisu's migration, evolution, and living environment, as well as their totemic worship that blends nature worship with ancestor worship. The eldest child in the Lisu is named Apu, the second is Adou, and the third is Aken, following a certain pattern. For example, the "Haibo" in the fish Haibo means a baby born on a rat day and whose father is not home at birth.

Chen Songlin nodded and continued on his way.

Along the banks of the lush Nujiang Grand Canyon, Lisu villages, dotted with bamboo houses, cling to the hillsides. Some even live in caves. These hardworking and courageous Lisu people lead a peaceful and tranquil life despite their poverty. Chen Songlin carefully observed the Lisu along the way, comparing his findings with those he had learned in his training. He quickly discovered that this Lisu community still maintains a distinct clan system, totem worship, and adheres to a primitive religion.

Soon, he saw some men returning from hunting and some women gathering honey. He immediately concluded that this group had not yet fully entered an agricultural society and still relied on hunting and gathering. Chen Songlin knew that Lisu society had developed relatively slowly and still retained some remnants of the primitive clan system.

Hu Apu, upon seeing his men return and Chen Songlin's courage to ascend the mountain with only one person, was immediately impressed. After Chen Songlin was brought before Hu Apu, Yu Haibo immediately greeted him in the Lisu way. After the two sides were introduced, Chen Songlin briefly explained the Progressive Party's policy toward ethnic minorities and said, "We are passing through here to resist the white invasion and hope to receive your help."

Chen Songlin didn't say anything about wanting to pass through your tribe. Simply passing through was a one-time deal. Hoping to get help from the Lisu people, then there was an immediate connection between the PLA and them. They were already helping each other, so wasn't passing through your tribe a natural thing to do?

"Xifan?"

"That's right, now these white people from Spain are occupying our land and killing our people..."

....To speak is to persuade. To persuade is to provide....For things to succeed, they must conform to numbers, hence it is said: Tao, numbers, and time coincide. To speak and listen is to conform to feelings; hence it is said: Those who are in harmony with feelings listen....To speak with the noble, one must rely on power; to speak with the rich, one must rely on height...

These chiefs are powerful people in the tribe, and they must first have a common position. Chen Songlin naturally knows how to talk to these chiefs.

After Chen Songlin passed away, media outlets interviewed his son, Chen Jianguo, about his journey to the Lisu people. Chen Jianguo said, "My father went up the mountain with only one soldier acting as an interpreter. He was incredibly brave, completely disregarding his own life and death. He told the Lisu chief, Hu Apu, about imperialist aggression, the Party's policies, the outside world, and the general trend of events. He even talked about building roads and houses for the Lisu people. My father and Hu Apu had a wonderful conversation, and their relationship grew closer. Finally, Hu Apu proposed a brotherhood with my father, and the two even drank chicken blood wine from cups together. This is the famous 'Lisu Alliance.'"

The reporter asked, "It was also from your father that the PLA began to form alliances with these leaders by drinking blood wine in ethnic minority areas, right? And it was only then that the liberation of ethnic minorities began to advance rapidly, right?"

Chen Jianguo corrected him, "My father repeatedly told me that gaining the support of these chieftains wasn't their personal merit. He said I didn't have any personal ability, but rather that I implemented the correct ethnic minority policies formulated by the Party Central Committee and Chairman Zhang Yinghao. At the time, the Chairman emphasized principled and flexible handling of issues. When my father reported the blood-wine alliance, he was highly praised by the Party Central Committee. These chieftains believed it, and to gain their support, our comrades followed their custom, drinking blood wine with them, forming an alliance, and swearing an oath."

Chen Jianguo changed the subject and said, "But there was nothing we could do about it. At that time, the regulations for troops entering ethnic minority areas were very strict. For example, Article 25 of the Liberation Manual stated that we must respect ethnic customs and freedom of religious belief. These strict regulations included things like no expression of dissatisfaction with religion; protecting lama temples, not staying in temples or scripture halls, and even not touching Buddha statues casually. We were not allowed to spit or fart in front of Tibetans, nor to fish, hunt, or hunt hawks near temples. When Tibetans gave us khatas, we had to return them. The troops had to dig toilets when they were stationed, and fill them up when they left. They say they can control everything, but not shit or farts. But the policies formulated by the Forward Party for liberating ethnic minority areas clearly stipulated even shit and farts, listing them in detail. The meticulous consideration is truly admirable."

The reporter also said: "It is precisely because the PLA troops are strictly disciplined, do not commit any crime, and resolutely implement Chairman Zhang and the Party Central Committee's ethnic and religious policies that they have quickly won the sincere support of ethnic minority peoples. In Tibetan areas, they are even known as 'Jinzhu Mami (Bodhisattva Soldiers)'."

"Yes, the effect is very obvious. Hu Apu has provided food, cattle, sheep and other supplies to the PLA soldiers many times. After learning about the party's policies, a Tibetan leader in Diqing also became sworn brothers with a comrade and drank chicken blood wine, and he immediately

He informed the temples under his jurisdiction that they were not allowed to oppose the PLA and asked the temples to donate cattle, sheep and food. Especially during the war of resistance against imperialist aggression, these chieftains also provided food and other supplies and helped the PLA transport supplies.

They provided aid, cared for the wounded, and made an indelible contribution to the victory over British imperialism."

The reporter asked: "How did our troops carry out their work when they entered these places?"

"The Progressive Party and the People's Liberation Army have always adhered to the principle of self-reliance and self-reliance.

The mountains collapsed and the rivers dried up, so after entering these minority areas,

Generally, the first step is to build a road. At the beginning, the people there did not understand and decided to

Our PLA comrades are stupid. But after the PLA and the Forward Party built the road for a period of time,

Afterwards, when the local people saw that the comrades were sincere in building the road for them, many of them

People took the initiative to join the road construction team, and these people became the first group to understand our party's policies.

people, and then rely on them to finally work on the ground.”

"Aren't you going to publicize the land reform work?"

"No propaganda. At that time, the army had regulations that prohibit the propaganda of class contradictions and struggles.

The slave owners punished the slaves.

As long as there is no danger to life, the PLA must turn a blind eye.

A tribe wanted to chop off people's heads for sacrifice, but our comrades refused to listen no matter how hard they tried to persuade them.

Only after learning that a tiger could be used as a substitute did our comrades go through great pains to catch one.

Only by giving that tiger to that tribe could a life be saved."

"Isn't that frustrating?"

"It's very frustrating. Not only that, the PLA likes to watch "White Hair"

The operas that comrades like to watch, such as "Women", "Put Down Your Whip", etc., are all available.

It was not allowed to be performed and not allowed to be seen by local people.

When it comes to work, unity, and united front work, the main issue is the language barrier.

Many places are still in the late primitive society, slave society, and are very hostile to outsiders.

If we don’t trust the Han people, we won’t be able to carry out our work.”

"So how did the land reform finally work out?"

"The central government instructed that after local conditions are fully mature, if the people do not

The chieftains who were sentenced should be judged on the premise that their living standards would not be lowered.

Please note that it was not our Progressive Party that forced the local area to carry out land reform;

The people of the area demand land reform.”

"Why do local people support the Party's land reform policy?"

"This is determined by social fairness and productivity. In fact, it is like the

Human head sacrifice is a very barbaric and backward thing in our eyes now.

At that time, they were still in a slave society, and there were still a lot of primitive societies in the tribe.

The mark of the society. Slash-and-burn farming, the level of productivity is too low, beheading is actually

It is also a way to eliminate population. Think about it - kill one or two people every year.

The number of people killed was mostly girls, which was equivalent to the reduction of a family.

If we use the model of children giving birth to grandchildren, this is the best way to reduce the population.

Primitive society, slave society will control population by killing young girls, XZ also

They also reduced the population through cruel killing. They may not understand so much, but

It's inevitable that most tribes do this."

"It was indeed barbaric and backward, but weren't these difficulties overcome in the end?"

"This still depends on Chairman Zhang Yinghao and the Party Central Committee starting from reality and taking

Different from the special policies in the inland and other ethnic regions,

The interests of the bosses and slave owners are not to carry out mass revolution, but to

The actions are to expel imperialist forces and exercise my country's territorial sovereignty over border areas.

Under the guidance of the principle of “prudent and steady progress”, we will focus on uniting all ethnic groups and religions.

and patriotic figures from the upper echelons, strictly enforce PLA discipline, and actively seek support from the masses.

They brought a large number of iron farm tools and relatively advanced production technology, sincerely improving

Improve the lives of poor farmers and herdsmen, and eliminate the historical reactionary ruling class through practical actions

The ethnic divide caused by it.

In a short period of time, the PLA and cadres stationed there won the support of the masses.

The PLA successively entered Lanping, Bijiang, and Fuzhou.

Gong, Gongshan, Lushui, and Nujiang areas were liberated.

Dai, Han, Jingpo, Lisu, Achang, De'ang and other ethnic groups and party, government and military leaders

People use Dai, Lahu Pinyin and Chinese characters to sign.

They swore an oath of blood on the banks of the Nu River, carved a stone to mark the occasion, and erected a "National Unity Covenant Monument." They also swore on the spot that all ethnic groups would follow the Progressive Party, even if the stone rotted.

Heart. "

"Crossing Gaoligong Mountain is Jiangxinpo, where we can build our country's first

What about an ethnic autonomous region?

“Yes, this is Chairman Zhang Yinghao’s creative development and application of Marxism.

In the late Qing Dynasty, Jiangxinpo including Hugang Valley had become a

The indigenous tribes such as the Qing people were independent and were not ruled by either the Qing Dynasty or Britain.

Due to the British instigation and other reasons, after our army entered, due to the poor transportation